I am the Whisperer
by DarkPhoenix2002
Summary: When Science Geek, Laikyn Starr, is sent to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters for being able to talk to animals, it's safe to say her life changes drastically. From setting a flock of birds on a School Bully to being kidnapped by Azazel as a hostage, Her life will never be the same. May be rated T later, depends on where it goes :)
1. Chapter 1

It was bad enough that I missed the bus and it's raining, What makes it worse is that the squirrels are taunting me from their dry trees. They taunt everyone actually, It's just people don't know that and think it's just nonsense chatter. _How do I know they're taunting me?_ You may ask. It's because I am one of those mutants you hear about on the news. Okay, not _exactly_ one of those mutants, I've never robbed a bank or vandalized a playground or anything else that the news may cover. But I am still a mutant or as normal humans call us, 'freak'.

I wade through the large puddle that covers the sidewalk. As soon as I get home, I know my mom will snap at me, "Laiken Starr, what do you think you are doing? You're soaked through! Don't you dare track mud in the house! Take off your shoes!"

I cut onto the alley that runs behind my house. If I had stayed on the sidewalk, I would have passed out neighbor, Mrs. Drake, and I am not making that mistake twice. She was a widow at age twenty-something because her husband was killed. She doesn't say how, but her yappy chihuahua, Sugar, says that men with guns came and took him away. I can only guess that he was a mutant because it is very rare for anyone else to be arrested like that nowadays. Unless he was an international jewel thief or something.

I get to the backdoor of my house and dig under the flowerpot of dying pansies to find the spare key. I kick off my muddy converses and strip off my soaked sweatshirt. Our dog, a German Shepard beagle mix named Luke, is the first to meet me.

"Your Home! Your home!" he says, jumping onto me. '"There is a strange man here. He has a moving chair and he wants to speak to you."

"Calm down, Luke. Is he from the MRD?" I ask.

"I don't think so,He smells like pumpkin spice ." he tells me.

An agent of the mutant registration department came a few weeks ago and asked my mother about me. Luke told me he smelled like Motor Oil and sweat, Anyway, since she does not know about my powers, my mom told the man he was out of his mind and slammed the door in his face. I have to applaud her for speaking her mind sometimes.

"Stop upsetting your dog, Laikyn, we have company!" my mom calls from the living room. Even though I hear him talking, everyone else just hears it as barking.

"Sorry mom!" I reply. "Can you be quiet for a while, Luke?"

"As quiet as a mouse, Lai." he says.

I pull my soggy brown hair over my shoulder and follow Luke into the living room.

A woman with brown, going gray hair, bags under her blue eyes, and pale skin sits on the sofa. She wears a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, black heels, and a grumpy expression. It is not hard to imagine her as a lawyer.

An older, bald man sits in a wheelchair close to the stairs. He has kind dark blue eyes, a pressed suit, and shiny black shoes. He definitely is not an agent.

"This is Professor Xavier, Laikyn." my mom says.

"Hello." I say shyly.

"Yes, Hello Miss Starr." Professor Xavier says, offering his hand to shake. I'm self conscious of my weak handshake, but I shake his hand anyway.

I sit next to my mom. "You apparently have not been honest with me." she says, "what's this about you being able to talk to animals?"

"Gosh mom." I say. "How was I supposed to tell you that I have been having conversations with Luke and Lilly?"

"Don't blame your daughter for not telling you, Mrs. Starr, these _are_ troubling times for her." Professor Xavier says. "Now, Laikyn, how old are you?"

"Fourteen." I say shyly.

"Excellent, and so I am assuming you are in eighth grade?"

I nod.

"She _is_ in advance biology and chemistry." my mom brags.

"Oh that's wonderful. We have a great science division at the school. You will love it." Professor Xavier smiles.

"Wait, what school?" I ask. It is the middle of the second nine weeks, it seems too early to be interviewed for a school for next year, but this is a terrible time for my mom to consider enrolling me in another school.

"Professor Xavier's school for people like you, Sweetie." my mom says as if it was the most obvious answer ever.

Professor Xavier then goes on to tell me about the 'Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters' a school for mutants. My mom is impressed by the beautiful campus and 4.6 star rating ("Colonie Central only has a 2.4 star rating, you know."). The only issue is that it is over two hours away. I do not want to move so far away from everyone.

"Of course this is a matter that we must consult with your father." my mom reminds me.

I'm fairly hopeful he will say no since the school is so far away.

After Professor Xavier leaves my mom does nothing but ask me about my powers.

"So all the times that Luke barks, he is actually saying something?"

"He's usually just going on about chasing squirrels or bacon or chasing squirrels wrapped in bacon." I tell her.

"And Lilly?"

I laugh, "She is very judgemental and usually keeps quiet."

"Lilly? Judgemental? Never! " My mom says sarcastically. "Just don't let your father hear you saying that."

Lilly is technically my dad's pet. He found her 'hopeless' and 'afraid' in our yard last year and took her in. She was actually the first animal I ever communicated with. I heard screaming from the bathroom and thought someone was being murdered. Turns out my dad was just trying to give her a bath. For the longest time I thought I was going insane because I knew cat meows do not sound like "get me out of here, girl! This peasant has no clue how to bathe me!"

I escape to my room before she asks me any more questions. I dig through my backpack and pull out my notebook and Chemistry homework.

Luke jumps onto my bed. " In order to extract isobutyric acid from a solution of diethyl ether, the solution should be cleaned with what?" He reads off my paper. "I thought you took chemistry, not gibberish."

"It's not gibberish, the answer is three times with ten milliliters of water." I write the answer onto the worksheet.

"So are you gonna go to the other school?" he asks. This is obviously what he wanted to talk to me about the entire time.

"I don't want to, but I don't have a choice if my parents insist that I go."

Luke considers this as he licks a spot on my bedspread that I spilled Kool-Aid on last night. "Bill won't want to send you away." He decides.

I smile at my dog. I know that my dad would not necessarily want me to go, but if my mom insists then she won't rest until I go. Maybe that's why she is a lawyer. She does not give up easily.

"Laikyn, your dad's home!" my mom calls from downstairs.

I restack my homework and leave my room. Luke is as at my heels as I jog down the stairs and into the perfectly cleaned kitchen.

I watch as my dad, 5'9 with blonde hair, gray eyes, a crooked nose, and a five O'clock shadow, peck my mom on the cheek as he sets his briefcase down on the counter.

"Smells good." he says, leaning over the pot of spaghetti sauce my mom is simmering over the stove.

"It's my mom's recipe." she says.

That is my dad's favorite meal, my grandma's special sauce over a bed of spaghetti. She is definitely trying to get him in the best mood possible.

"Laikyn, and how was your day?" my dad asks turning to me.

"I got an A on my biology test." I say.

"Excellent."

"Speaking of school." my mom pours the pot of sauce into a serving bowl and places it on the table. "Laikyn has something she needs to tell you."

"Did you get to try out for the cheerleading squad? " My dad asks hopefully. He seems to think (or more hope) I am 'popular' at school and not a shy girl who stays quiet until science class.

When I don't say anything my mom continues, "A man came today, he gave me this-" she hands him the brochure to the school. " And told us that our Laikyn is a mutant." she whispers the last word like the kitchen was bugged.

"Like those mutants on the six o'clock news that get arrested? Those mutants?" my dad asks.

"Yes, those mutants." my mom says.

"What are you _power_?" he asks me.

"I can communicate to animals." I say shyly.

It is amazing how someone's mood can change from being worried and down right scared to being amazed.

"Do you know how much money that would make? We could have a show called "The Whisperer' and you could figure out the problems of people's pets." My dad says. I forgot to mention he works for a television network. None of his ideas have even actually been aired, but he still enjoys bragging to company about it.

"Do you know how dangerous this could be?" my mom snaps at her husband while she bustles around the kitchen with a strainer of steaming pasta." Professor Xavier offers safety and education for mutants, I think it would be best to send her here." She points at the brochure.

"But it's all the way in Westchester, Sally." my dad says.

"Told you!" Luke says happily.

"I guess it could be good for her, after all we wouldn't have to worry about those agents finding her." my dad considers. "And it is _only_ two hours away, she could visit over spring break and Christmas."

A lot more consideration occurs, but long story short, by the end of the night, my parents call to enroll me into Xavier's school for gifted youngsters.

 **Author's notes: hey all! thank you so much for reading my fanfic. I appriciate it so much! Please feel free to send kudos, critism and suggestions. I'm always up for improving my work. Cheers!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men, only Laikyn and any others that I personally create.**


	2. Chapter 2

A week later all my credits are switched, making it official that I'm leaving.

The story is that I'm moving in with my grandmother because her health is failing. Well, that's the story my parents are telling my teachers, it's not like I actually have any friends besides Luke to tell and he knows why I'm leaving.

The night before I'm leaving my mom decides that it's time I get a haircut. I sit in a desk hair in front of the full-length mirror on the bathroom door as she cuts away my brown curls. I look in the mirror, My fair skin is paler than normally due to anxiety. I really hope I get my color back by tomorrow, because the last thing I want to do is go to a new school looking like a marshmallow with hair.

I watch my mom for awhile, her lips curl in as she focuses on making my hair even. She wanted to be a hairdresser when she was younger but her parents insisted she went into law. I know she wishes she had gone into cosmetology, but at least she has a daughter with a _lot_ of hair.

Then her blue eyes meet my brown in the mirror and she smiles. "Are you nervous?" she asks.

"What gave it away?" I ask sarcastically.

"I'm your mom, I know these things."

Neither one of us says anything for a while. My mom goes back to trimming my hair and I stare at my reflection in the mirror. A splatter of freckles over my nose stand out on my pale skin. My dark brown eyes have bags under them and my brown hair, now laying at my shoulders instead of my mid-back and frames my face.

"You're done." my mom says with one final snip of the scissors. I stand up and loose curls roll off my body and onto the floor.

 _ **Later**_

I toss and turn all night. Around three in the morning I give up on trying to sleep altogether and go down to the kitchen for ice cream. As I scoop the frozen goodness into my bowl, Luke comes in.

"I can't believe you're actually leaving." He says as he jumps up in a chair.

I sit across from him, "I'll be back, I'm not leaving forever." I say.

"You're leaving me with that cat." he says.

"So there will be no witnesses." Lilly's voice comes from the top of the refrigerator and her head pops out over the edge.

"No fighting while I'm gone." I say, "I don't want my parents calling and saying that my bedroom's a bloodbath because you two couldn't agree on which one gets to sleep on my bed."

A flash of calico comes off the refrigerator and Lilly jumps onto the kitchen chair next to me,

"There won't be a disagreement because It's obvious that _I_ get the bed. Filthy dogs like this-" she flicks her tail towards Luke, "belong on the floor."

''I'm not filthy." Luke says defensively. "I just had a bath last Tuesday!"

"Precisely, I bathe myself daily, thus I am the cleaner one so I get the bed."

"Just share my bed." I say.

"Fine." Luke says.

"I make no promises." Lilly jumps off the chair and leaves the kitchen.

Eight hours later we are in the car on a busy highway. It seems like the car moves two feet, then stops again for ten minutes.

"We should have taken the other way, Bill." My mom says.

"That had tolls and there is no way I'm spending twenty dollars to drive on a road when we can do it for free here." he says.

I sigh and look out my window. It is a gloomy day, but not as gloomy as I feel. Luke's whimpering as I said goodbye is still fresh in my mind. His tail was between his legs as he licked my face sadly. "Goodbye Lai." He whimpered. If Lilly hadn't been indifferent, then I might have lost it completely. I promise myself that they next time I'm home I'll get Luke an extra big bone.

Now butterflies fly around in my stomach. Every time we hit a bump, I hang onto my seatbelt with the fear of vomiting. I don't get car sick either, so this was all nerves.

My dad pulls into a small gas station and fills the tank. He comes back with sandwiches and sodas, along with a 'super special' deluxe Milky Way bar for me. I choked down the sandwich and take sips of my Pepsi, but I store the chocolate in my backpack for later.

In hopes of getting my mind off things, my mom turns on my favorite radio station. Unfortunately we go out of range of it after five minutes.

"Turn left in point four miles." the GPS says. We pass billboards for stores and restaurants in Westchester so I know we are getting close. We turn onto an exit and a large sign reads,

 **Welcome to Westchester County NY.**

 **Population 968,000**

We follow this road until we get to Salem Center, Then my dad turns left again and follows a lower quality road until we get to a long brick wall. On the other side stands a mansion. Through its windows, different rooms are visible. Everything I see is beautiful, a chandelier is hanging in one window. A piano is next to another. It does not seem like a place that would suit me, but then the car turns onto the driveway and I change my mind.

At least two dozen kids are outside. A large fraction of them are on or around a basketball court where an intense game seems to be taking place. Others sit under trees with books or video games. None are in school uniforms or even fancy clothes, most of them are in shorts or sweatpants. I am relieved because I did _not_ want to wear a uniform.

My dad parks the car, but I am reluctant to get out. I finish the last of my Pepsi before swinging my backpack over my shoulder and stepping out into the October air. Professor Xavier meets us at the door with a warm smile. "Good Afternoon." He says cheerfully. He introduces himself to my dad and after some chit chat, takes us to his study.

"Just a few sheets of paperwork and we can begin the tour." He says. My mom takes the clipboard and pen offered to her and she begins filling out my medical record and signing release forms. I try to pretend I'm interested in what she's writing, but I can't help but look around the gorgeous study.

The windows are tall and are topped with arcs close to the high ceiling. The beige drapes allow just enough light in so that you could see easily but it was not too bright. The red carpet stands out, but also complements the cream colored walls. Bookshelves full of book, files, and a few knick knacks stand against one wall. The Mahogany desk is situated in the middle of the room, with a small matching table in the corner. A lamp and a stack of books are the only things on the table.

My mom finishes signing the paper and hands the clipboard and pen to me. I sign my own name of the line, but as always I'm self conscious of my handwriting, which basically looks like chicken scratches compared to my mom's neat penmanship.

Professor Xavier then begins the tour. "That room is basically just the lobby. It has no real use except for the few couches in it." He points towards the first room.

"Then up here is the classrooms." we go up in the elevator and into a hall. The classrooms are the standard table/chalkboard scenario. It's the library that really caught my attention. I have never seen so many books in my life. I feel my mouth gap open as I look around the several aisles of shelves. According to the signs, there are two entire aisles dedicated to science.

"She enjoys book. A lot." my dad says. "Got her a box set of her favorite series for Christmas and she almost ignored her phone. Could have spent less and she wouldn't have cared."

"These books are always available, and we often get new materials in." Professor Xavier says.

The rest of the tour included the dorms, the kitchen, the cafeteria, the common room, the courtyard and the indoor pool. My favorite continues to be the library.

"Here at the school, everyone has special powers, Laikyn." Professor Xavier tells us as we make our way back to his study. "I begin this school to help mutants learn to control their powers in a safe environment after seeing the hatred towards mutants from the regular population. Now I

have over thirty students, all with different powers and interests. I'm certainly positive you will be able to find a group that shares the same likings are you."

Too soon after the tour, My parents decide it's time to get my luggage out of the car, which meant they'd be leaving soon. My dad wheels in my Minnie Mouse suitcase, it was slightly embarrassing to only have a child's suitcase like that, When he gets into the doors, I pile my book bag on top in the hopes of drawing less attention.

"You can call whenever you want." my mom says. She hugs me. "And don't worry, I am confident you will fit in just fine." My dad squeezes my left shoulder tightly and kisses my forehead. "Goodbye, Lai." He says.

I wave goodbye to them and follow Professor Xavier to my new room. By the time I get to the window the car is already turning out of the driveway.

"I sense you're upset." Professor Xavier says. "That's normal and if you want to talk about it."

"I'm fine." I say, "But thank you." I was not about to spill my heart out to a guy I pretty much just met.

"Well then, I'm off, dinner is at five and if you have any questions I'll be in my study. Feel free to customize your quarters." He leaves the bedroom and I sit down on the bed. The color scheme was the same red and beige that resides in most rooms. The bed has white sheets and a red quilt with a plush headboard. _That will be nice for late-night studying._ I tell myself. A desk is beside the window, it has a stack of books, pencils, loose leaf paper, all the basic school supplies. A desk lamp shines over the pile. A window seat has throw pillows and a stack of spare blankets. A bare bookshelf is situated between a closet and a bathroom.

I begin unpacking my clothes and other items. Soon I am arranging my books on the shelf. I throw my favorite blanket onto the bottom of my bed and start to hang up my clothes. I spend my time organizing my clothes in color order, along with placing my toothbrush and other bathroom necessities in just the right places. Call me OCD but at least it got my mind off of things.

By the time I'm done, it's already 4:45 so I figure I should be getting to dinner.

I get turned around two times in the maze of hallways, and when I finally find the cafeteria, everyone is already here. Around two dozen round tables are situated throughout the room. It was easy to put the groups into categories, It was just like a public school. At the table closest to me, a group of six guys, all buff with tight-fitting graphic tees and jeans, who are flipping water bottles and flirting with the next table which has a group of goo goo-eyed, heavy makeup girls who are fluttering their eyelashes and giggling. They are definitely this school's equivalent of the stereotype football players and cheerleaders.

The rest of the groups are more diverse. I notice a few who are blue, or have scales, but I expected this since this is a school for mutants.

I get my tray and scan the room for an empty table, the closest I got was a table at the far side with one girl. I push my way towards it, "Can I sit here?" I ask. She looks up and nods. I slide into the plastic seat and open my milk carton.

"I'm Laikyn." I say.

"Illyanna." she says quietly. She pretends that she's very interesting in stabbing her straw into her juice, but I've played that card to many times to count. She's shy.

Her round, blue eyes stare a spot on the table as she puts a spoon of mashed potatoes into her mouth. Her blond hair is pulled over her shoulder and her pale skin is slightly blushed at the cheeks.

I dip my chicken strip in the pile of potatoes when she looks up at me. "You're new?" she asks.

"Yep." I take a long sip of my juice.

"Welcome."

"Thanks."

"You're a mutant?" I ask. Yeah I know, dumb question since we are at a school dedicated to mutants, but I needed something so say.

"Yeah, I can uh, teleport." this time her voice is really audible. "How about you?"

"I can talk to animals."

"That's awesome!"

"So I've been told."

For the rest of dinner, Illyanna and I talk. She tells me about her and her brother and how they are from Russia, I tell her how my dad wanted to make a television show where I figure out the problems of animals. By the end of the hour, we both have to rush to finish our cold mashed potatoes and chicken that we had forgotten about.

To Be Continued.

 **Author's notes: Hello! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I was going to stop it after the tour, but it was too short and I figured Laikyn needed a friend. Anyhoo, see you later!**


	3. Chapter 3

A weeks passes and I get used to my new routine. My first class is at eight-thirty, meaning I have to get up at seven O'clock to give me enough time to get out of bed and eat breakfast. Which may not sound too hard to some people, but I am _not_ a morning person.

I have four classes before lunch, then another class and an hour of "outdoor exercises" which is just an insanely advanced gym class.

I'm doing well in my studies, but my social status is a different story. So far the only friends I've made are Illyanna and awkwardly all the teachers. It does not bother my much though. I've always been shy and a lone wolf in everything, but the company of Illyanna _is_ nice.

So here I am, walking down the hall with Illyanna after the last class when I realize I forgot my notebook.

"I'll be back, I forgot something." I say.

"Want me to wait up?" she asks.

I tell her 'no' and make my way towards the physics classroom. I slip in, not knowing that the teacher, Dr. Grey, was talking to a student.

"I will not tolerate it anymore, Nate." she says.

"You let Rachel do it, You let her do everything." The boy mumbles.

"No, I don't, She did it once and when we called her out she stopped, but you continue to do it."

I consider leaving and getting it at a later time, but I knew they locked the classrooms and I had homework for tonight. My desk was at the back of the room, I quickly grab my notebook and tiptoe from the classroom. I practically jump from my skin when Dr. Grey calls out, "have a nice day, Laikyn."

"You too." I say, I don't turn around though because I know my face it bright red. I was just getting my stuff, but I felt like I was intruding on a private conversation.

I turned into the hallway when one of the serotype football player guys walks up to me. "Hello, _Brainkyn_." He says.

I roll my eyes, "Clever." I say. I was used to bullies at my old school and "Brainkyn" was not original.

He could tell I wasn't fazed by him, so he knocks my notebook out of my grasp. It falls to the floor and papers scatter everywhere.

I look up at him, his front tooth was chipped and he has a scar on his cheek. He wears a worn red t-shirt reading ' _Zombies hate fast food'_ His eyes coldly watch me as I pick up the nearest paper.

"Don't you have a class you need to flunk or something?" I ask dryly.

He laughs. "Think you're funny, huh?" He grabs the front of my shirt, lifts me up and slams me into the wall. I feel a bruise forming on my back from where a fire alarm cover digs into me. I kick him in the leg with all my energy and my foot hits something metal. He does not even flinch, but my toes ache.

"Let go of her!" someone yells.

"Sure, whatever you say." He drops me on the floor.

That's the first time I get a glance at my "savior" the same one I overheard with Dr. Grey, a gangly kid with ruffled hair and a Superman backpack. Great, I'm screwed. The bully lunges towards him, The boy puts his fingertips to his temples and the bully flies into a broom closet. When he comes out, blood drips from his nose onto his shirt. He looks at the boy with wide eyes and runs off. Maybe I'm not as screwed as I thought.

"Don't mind Lance, he can be a huge jerk." he says as he pulls me to my feet.

He helps me pick up my papers. "LEE-K-I-N" He reads the top of my paper.

"It's Lay-Ken." I sound it out for him. I am used to people mispronouncing my name.

"That's... Unique. Just like you." he says, handing my papers.

"Thanks. I can never find it on Coke bottles." I say I feel my hands get clammy, but I have no clue why since it's only like fifty degrees out.

He laughs and remember hearing him a few rows ahead of my in class. "I'm Nathaniel." he says.

Illyanna runs down the hall before I can say anything else. "Oh my... Rachel! What happened? I saw Lance running up the hall with a bloody face."

"I'm fine." I say "Nathaniel-" I turn around, but he's already several yards down the hall. I turn back around I see Dr. Grey watching us from the classroom. We make eye contact, and she is first to look away.

 _ **Thirty minutes later**_

The computer tech, Mr. Summers also doubles as the outdoor exercises instructor.

"Today we are focusing on stealth." He tells the group of students. "Nate, come here."

Nathaniel reluctantly pushes his way from the back of the group. He winks at me as he stands next to Mr. Summers.

"He _likes_ you." Illyanna whispers.

"He does not." I say.

After a brief amount of instruction and I mean very brief, Nathaniel runs through an obstacle course. He jumps over cones and crawls through tunnels. He jumps through inner tubes and Climbs up a wall When he gets to the end, Mr. Summers turns off his stopwatch, "36.4 seconds. Good Job."

Several more students go, most have times anywhere from 30 second to 90 seconds. Lance, who cleaned up quite well since the hall, ran through the course at full speed, coming in at 29.3 seconds. Several of the other students boo and moan as he struts back to his spot in the crowd. When Illyanna goes, she has a time of 40.7 seconds, which Mr. Summer's says is a personal best.

"Laikyn."

I have been dreading my turn. I am not fast or stealthy. I almost fail gym class every single year at my old school.

I feel like a complete idiot as I wait for him to tell me to start. I just want to get this over with.

"And go!" he finally says.

I jump over the cones. Three times I almost trip over them. Next is a tube I have to crawl through. They are bigger versions of those multicolored kid crawl tunnels. I continue army crawling until I get to the end. I get through the balance beam pretty well, but the agility run was my weakness. I get halfway through and trip on the innertubes. I go down, body slamming a unicorn innertube. I hear laughing behind me.

"Keep going." Mr. Summers erges.

I stumble the rest of my way through the innertubes. My face is hot and quite possibly bright red as I get to the last obstacle. The wall climb. I grab onto the rope and try to pull myself up. Did I mention I have like zero upper body strength? By the time I get to the top, my hands are so tired they will probably fall off.

"144.2 seconds." He says.

I don't have to be great at math to know that is the longest time of the class.

I push my way through to the back of the crowd.

"Don't feel bad, Laikyn, that was the first time I had been under fifty, most of the time I am up in the seventies or eighties." Illyanna puts her hand on my shoulder, "and besides, It was your first time ever doing it."

"I'm terrible at sports." I say. "I knew I would not do well." it was true, _so why do I feel so bad afterwards?_

Mr. Summers dismisses the class and we flood into the lobby of the school. Nathaniel shoves his way towards forehead is beaded with sweat.

"Hey, Laikyn, Illyanna."

"Hello, Nate." Illyanna grins and shoots me a look that I read as ' _He likes you, why else would he keep coming over to you'._

The crowd almost instantly goes quiet, I'm confused as to why, then I saw Lance coming towards us. He towers over the rest like we are all munchkins. My guess is he is at least 6'5.

"Well, it is obvious you're not _Speedkyn_." his eyes pierce their way into mine and I feel myself shrinking away from him. It made sense for him to bully me when I was the only one in the hall, but in a lobby full of students _why is he still targetting me?_

"Leave her alone!" Nathaniel barks. "She did nothing to you."

"Boyfriend to the rescue." Lance punches him in the jaw making him tumble backwards and several students gasp. blue and purple is already blooming over his cheek and chin. "I'll tell you what she did, _she was born!_ " Lance spits out.

"Stop it!" I scream. And before I know it, a flock of, starlings, robins, and a lone goose burst through the doors and towards Lance.

"AHH!" He is knocked to the ground and pecked at by the birds, except the goose, who just sits there with a smug look on it's face.

Most of the students scatter from the room. A few hide behind a couch and one is crouched down behind a vase, they all have wide eyes and their mouths are gaped open. Nathaniel and Illyanna are in the doorway, watching intently like this was their favorite show.

"Get them off! Getoff! Geoff!" Lance's screams are muffled by the goose, who decided he was not too good to join in and sat on the bully's face.

At first I was too dumbfounded to do anything. I'm too surprised by the fact that a bunch of birds just came to my rescue. When I see flashes of blood I decide to call them off.

"Hey, Birds! Get off of him!" I say finally.

"My name is Bartholomew." The goose says.

"Well, Bartholomew, get off of him." I command.

One by one, the birds fly off him and out the door. "Goodbye Laikyn!" Bartholomew calls as he flies out.

"Bye Bartholomew!" I wave as if I am saying goodbye to my aunt, with a satisfied smile and cheerful spirit.

My cheerful spirit did not last long, because Professor Xavier comes to the top of the stairs, another student and Dr. Grey are following close behind him.

"What is going on here?" He asks.

Lance stands up. His arms and face are bleeding from pinprick sized wounds and his shirt is torn at the left sleeve. "She...She is a monster! S-She set those birds on me when all I was doing was congratulating her on-"

"Don't lie! We all saw you!" Nathaniel yells. "Professor, he was bullying Laikyn, then when I told him to stop, He punched me, then she yelled something and the birds swarmed in! He probably would have beat us all up if the birds hadn't come."

Lance looks like he is about to attack again. His hands are curled into fists and his brow is knit. "Th-That is not what happened! I promise I would never hurt a single one of these kids, They all ganged up on me for no reason."

Dr. Grey chimes in, "That's funny, because I just saw you push Laikyn against the wall Last period."

Professor Xavier raises his hand. "Enough. Nathaniel, go to the infirmary."

Lance says something along the lines of, "Go run to mommy."

Professor Xavier scowls. "You too Lance. Also, this will add six detentions more to your record."

"But-"

"As for Laikyn, come to my study."

The two boys follow Dr. Grey down to the infirmary. And with a panicked glance to Illyana, I follow Professor Xavier to his study.

 **Author's notes: Hey! I admit I am posting alot on this story. I had three chapters finished before I decided to publish it. Now that I have published all the finished chapters, I'm going to have a posting scedule of Monday and thursday! Anyway, hope you all are enjoying my story so far. Any critism and comments are welcome. Cheers!**


	4. Chapter 4

I had never gotten detention in my life, and I did not want to ruin my record now.

I sit in front of Professor Xavier's desk. It is the same as it was last week, with the neat Bookshelves and desk. This time the mahogany furniture seemed more eerie than welcoming though. It's amazing how one day the lighting can be soft and friendly, then the next it's downright creepy.

Professor Xavier rolls behind his desk, "I would like to talk to you." He says.

"I didn't mean to set the birds on him, I promise." I pick at the hem of my t-shirt nervously.

"You are not in trouble, Laikyn." He says soothingly.

I look up at him and for the first since I came into his office I made eye contact with him.

"I'm not?" I ask in disbelief. This is an odd school then because I am pretty sure if you set a flock of birds on a student in a regular public school you'd get detention, or worse.

"Accidents happen, Dear, especially with mutant powers and high level of emotion. We always have _interesting_ commotion here." He smiles. "What I wanted to talk to you about has to do with your Chemistry grades."

"Okay."

He goes over to the bookshelf and takes out a file. My name is written at the top of the manila folder in black letters. He sets it on the desk and it opens. It The first page is the medical record my mom filled out, but the rest is all my schoolwork.

"Your chemistry grades are astounding, It is easy to see why you were in advanced classes." He flips through the worksheets with a satisfied grin. "You may know that we have two scientists here, Dr. Grey being one and the other is Dr. McCoy, of course he is away at the time so you have not met him yet."

I nod, even though I didn't know this. I just want him to get to the point.

"I have discussed it with Dr. Grey and we have decided, since you are so far advanced in this field, you could skip the classes completely and become an assistant down in the labs. If you want to, that is."

"R-really!?" I stammer.

"Yes."

"Oh my gosh! I would love to!" it is my dream to work in a lab.

"Well, as soon as Dr. Grey is finished in the infirmary, we can go down."

 _ **Twenty minutes later**_

I follow Professor Xavier outside of his office and down the hall until we get to an elevator with a voice recognition lock. "Xavier, Charles."

The doors slide open and Professor Xavier rolls in. I follow, the doors close and the shaft begins going down. Beethoven's ninth symphony plays in the background as we go down into the _catacombs_ of the institute. I had never actually been down here, but in the first days of me being here, I had heard rumors of what resides down in what is referred to the catacombs.

"It really is not as terrifying as the students make it out to be." Professor Xavier says like he was just reading my thoughts.

"I didn't think so." I say. I'm very curious as to how he knew what I was thinking. Maybe it was just a cool incidence.

"Sorry, Laikyn, I am a telepath. It's hard to decipher what is said in the mind or out loud at times. I should have warned you about it." He smiles grimly.

"It's fine." I say awkwardly. I should be more careful as to what I think when he's around him if I don't want him to know a bunch of personal stuff.

The elevator opens and in front of us is hallway completely covered in metal panels. It is like some weird, advanced bunker from World War 2. As we go down the hall, my footsteps echo off throughout it. I'm not sure if I am just heavy footed or if it is because the entire thing is made of metal.

We stop in front of a large door that looks like a futuristic Hobbit hole in the sense that it is metal and round. It makes an X shape as it opens into a large room that resembles a hospital. This must be the infirmary.

Professor Xavier leads me through the infirmary and into an office on the far side. He knocks and opens the door.

Dr. Grey is typing away on a laptop, She has a white lab coat over her pastel blue sweater and jeans. Her red hair is pulled back into a tight knot in the back of her head. She looks like the standard scientist. Nathaniel is also here, he plays on a cellphone and by the music coming from it, I can tell he is playing Candy Crush. He looks up at me with a puzzled look and mouth _Are you okay?_ I nod just as Dr. Grey looks up.

"You ready?" she asks.

"Yes."

"Woah, Woah, Woah, what are you ready for?" Nathaniel sets his phone on the desk. "Is everything okay?"

Dr. Grey sighs. "She is going to help in the labs, Nate."

Nathaniel crosses his arms. "How come I don't get to help?"

"Maybe it has something to do with you C- in Chemistry." Dr. Grey suggests.

His face turns a bright shade of red so that he looks like a tomato. I try to keep a straight face, but it's hard. "I am a Mathematician!" He argues. "I deal with numbers, not chemicals!"

"Then why would you want to work down there anyway?" Dr. Grey smiles at Nathaniel and then leaves the office. "Come on, Laikyn, I'll give you the official lab tour.

She leads me down the hall farther. Her heels echo off the metal floor. She turns into an alcove and puts in a code on a keypad. Doors open. At first the room is pitch black, but then bright LED lights turn on overhead and wash over counter after counter full of supplies. I feel my eyes widen with excitement. This is not your average high school chemistry lab at all. The closest counter is packed full with machines: microscopes, magnetic stirrers, scales, you name it, it's here. Hundreds of different sizes of, beakers, test tubes, graduated cylinders, and flasks fill up the other counters. One wall has a glass cabinet with a rack stocked full of chemicals and solutions. The opposite wall has a counter full of tools I've never even seen before.

"Welcome to the labs." She says.

"What all do you do in here?" I ask.

"Mostly experiments on the Xgene, figuring out exactly how mutant powers affect the body and such. However, lately we've been trying to find an antidote for the so-called cure that the government just released." She points towards a counter in the far corner. The epoxy countertop is covered with beakers filled with different colors of liquids, Bunsen burners, and microscopes.

Curiosity gets the best of me, "If it's a cure, then why do you need an antidote?" I ask. I remember seeing the news segment on it when it first came out. The scientists injected a mutant ,who had been born with green skin and gills, with a serum and he slowly (and painfully) changed so he was human.

"It is not a permanent cure, but it takes years for powers to come back in most mutants. It's a serum that seems to rewrite the mutant's DNA for a period of time until the evolved gene is encased by other genes and blocked. The transition is slow and many don't survive until the end. For the lucky few, it lasts a lifetime, but the stronger the powers, the quicker the cure is destroyed by the Xgene." She smiles softly and walks over to the counter with the cure experiments. I follow. "This is the cure." she holds up a tightly sealed bottle with a series of numbers printed on the label and a clear liquid inside."Mr. Summers and Ms. Monroe were able to break into the government facility that it was being stored in and brought some back. Now we are able to figure out the build of it and the antidote. Unfortunately it is extremely advanced and the code has not been completely detected yet."

Until dinner, Dr. Grey shows me the individual stations of the lab and went over the standard safety rules (Hair up, no loose clothing, no handling the chemicals without supervision, etc.) And my official first day in the labs start the next day.

To be Continued

 **Author's notes: Hey guys! I have had alot of fun writing this story so far and I am always looking to improve my writing, so any advise or suggestions for the story or just writing in general is always appreciated. Let me know what you think so far. Also, the next chapter may not be posted until tuesday because I have a crazy busy weekend and I don't know if I'll be able to write much.**

 **If you did not know, the Cure that Dr. Grey was talking about is the one from the third X-men movie. At the end it showed Magneto with his powers again even after he was hit with the Cure, so I assume that that means it is temporary. I, of course needed a reason to have Laikyn working in the labs daily so I figured that the scientists would have to be working almost nonstop trying to find an Antidote to the Cure. Anyway, see you later!**


	5. Chapter 5

I spend most of my time in classes, homework, and helping in the lab. On Wednesdays, I get the day off from the labs, and that is really the only time I get to hang out with Illyanna.

Tuesday morning Dr. McCoy gets back and I have my first ever class with him. One thing Professor Xavier did not tell me about Dr. McCoy is that he is a 5'11 blue fur ball. I am used to the multi-colored kids that live at the school but imagine my surprise when I walked into the geology classroom and a large blue bear in a suit is sitting at the desk.

"That's Dr. McCoy." Ilyanna whispers, her warm breath tickles my ear.

"Uh-huh," I say.

"Good morning class." Dr. McCoy taps on the whiteboard and the classroom goes silent. "I see that Ms. Monroe has done a… interesting job on covering for me while I was away. However, today we are going to continue our lesson on sedimentary rocks."

My first impression is that he is that mean teacher every school seems to have, like Mrs. Jones, my old Language arts teacher, but as the class continues he ends up being really fun. Every time someone gets a question right he gives them a point. Whoever gets the most at the end gets to pick from the candy jar, which is rumored to have full-size candy bars!

Dr. McCoy looks down at his clipboard, "How much sedimentary rocks make up the Earth's Surface?" Over half of the students raise their hands, but he calls on me, who did not have my hand up.

"Uhh…" I felt my cheeks grow hot as the students all stare at me. Nathaniel actually stopped sending notes to his friend, Tyrone Johnson, to watch me. Then I hear a voice in my head. Seventy-five percent. it says.

"Um, Seventy-five percent…" I repeat, unsure if that was the answer or not.

"Good job!" He continues asking questions, but I am too shaken to pay any attention. I knew hearing voices was not a good sign, I can't stop thinking of a guy in our neighborhood, Mr. Smith. He heard voices all the time until one begun telling him stuff he shouldn't do. Let's just say Mr. Smith went missing for a week and then his body was found by some fishermen in the ice-cold Hudson river. I really don't want to end up as a human popsicle.

"Remember class, you need to have six sedimentary rocks classified by Friday." He ends the class and gives a boy named Samuel free range of the candy jar.

I gather my stuff and shoulder my backpack. I had to get down to the class ran over time and I was already fifteen minutes late. I'm down the hall at least twenty feet before I hear Illyana coming up behind me. "Hey, Laikyn! Wait up!" she yells.

"I got to get down-," I say.

"The labs, I know." She runs up beside me. "I just wanted to make sure you were OK. you stopped taking your notes after he called on you."

"Oh, I'm fine," I say. "And I'll be okay with the notes, I didn't miss anything I didn't already know."

"Yeah, but _I_ need your notes. Remember?" Illyana never takes notes, so when she found out I am a thorough note-taker, she began stealing them to study.

I laugh, "Well, that teaches you that you're better off if you take them yourself, huh."

"Whatever." She rolls her electric blue eyes and runs off to her room, leaving me to go down to

the labs.

"Starr, Laikyn," I speak into the voice recognition lock. The elevator takes me down and I follow the metal hallway to the labs, where I put in the code, 8315. Dr. Grey is skimming through a binder full of papers when I come in. "Hello, Laikyn." she smiles and stands up. Several different bottles were sitting on the counter with the Cure. 'We believe we have found a lead on the structure." I follow her and she begins to explain that the Cure is a neropoison. It attacks the brain and mutated cells until the mutation can do nothing but be demolished. It's definitely a ferocious, but only way to get rid of the Xgene (the name for the gene that carries the mutant powers).

"That's… Scary." I say.

"What? The fact that they have developed something they could use as a weapon or the fact that they are administering poison and calling it a cure?"

"Both." I never considered it being used as a weapon, but if they made it airborne- I don't even want to think about it.

''That's why we're making an antidote. The quicker we produce it the sooner we don't have to worry much about it."

I am curious as to how we are making the antidote. I read once that they use horse blood to make antivenom for snake bites, but I haven't seen any horses, or their blood since I've been here.

Dr. Grey goes to a refrigerated storage unit and takes out a bottle with a liquid that looks like caramel. However, I get the feeling we won't be making ice cream sundaes. "Measure out three milliliters please." She hands me a syringe and the bottle of the cure. I carefully take off the lid and place the syringe in. I measure out exactly three milliliters and she takes it. She pushes down the plunger and the clear liquid goes into a test tube. Next, she seals it and places it into the refrigerator unit.

"This is plasma." She holds up the bottle of caramel-colored liquid. "Mutant plasma is necessary for the antidote, though blood would be more ideal."

The lab door opens and Nathaniel comes in. "hey, Mom, Dad told me I had to ask- Oh hey, Laikyn." he smiles at me. "Anyway, dad said I had to ask you if I was allowed to go down to the stream with Ty and get rocks for our science project."

Dr. Grey looks at Nathaniel skeptically for a moment. "Dr. McCoy has you down in the stream in mid-forty temperatures?"

"Not exactly, but we figured it would be the best place to find sandstone."

"Very well. Just be back by dinner."

Nathaniel looks at me for a moment, then says, "Another thing, can Laikyn come too?"

Dr. Grey looks from me to Nathaniel, who is apparently her son. That came as a shock to me and took a minute for it to soak in.

"I suppose if Laikyn wants to I can't keep her from coming. The only other thing I was going to have her do was measure out the plasma."

"She can do that tomorrow, right Laikyn? Please come with us, Tyrone is so annoying when it's just the two of us."

"I guess I can," I say. Ten minutes later I am walking down the lawn with Nathaniel and Tyrone with old clothes and shoes on.

"Maybe if we bring back ten rocks, we'll get extra credit," Tyrone says. He's a tall kid, probably 5'10-6'0 with dark skin, eyes, and closely shaved hair. He always seems to be wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and worn out converses, although the only times I've seen him is with Nathaniel or a peppy girl named Tandy.

"The stream is down this way," Nathaniel tells me, obviously ignoring Tyrone. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who cares about extra credit.

The stream ends up being ten feet wide and at least foot deep. Rock islands speckle it and a layer of rocks lays at the bottle. Nathaniel wades through the freaking cold water towards an island. "It's not that bad." He calls. Tyrone and I are next, My body tenses up as I go through, my feet are soaked by the time I get to the island. _Why did I wear socks?_

Tyrone instantly starts picking up rocks and examining them, but Nathaniel begins to talk. "Sorry if I scared you earlier." He says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"When I gave you the answer of the question. You seemed freaked afterward."

"That was you?" I ask, totally relieved that I'm not going crazy.

"He's been reading your mind for weeks," Tyrone says with a grin.

"I'm telepathic." Nathaniel blushes slightly. "You seemed so lost, and it wasn't fair of McCoy to ask you when your hand wasn't even up."

 _Like Professor Xavier_. I think. _That's cool._

"Not like the Proff!" He says exasperated, "Why does everyone assume that just 'cause we're both Psychics does not mean we have the same powers! But yeah, it's pretty cool."

Tyrone laughs. "She didn't say anything, Dude." He turns to me, "I must apologize for my friend here, he does this when he's nervous."

" _Crap_. I thought she did!" Nathaniel blushes even more now. I laugh at how awkward this is getting but I pretend I'm interested in picking up a sparkly rock and turn away from the boys.

Fifteen minutes later, we gather our rocks and we go across the water again to the shore. It starts to get dark, but we start labeling them by types (limestone, sandstone, slate, etc.)

Tyrone looks at his watch. "We still have a half hour till dinner." He pulls out a book and begins to read.

Nathaniel starts skipping rocks across the stream. "I've never been able to do that," I say.

"It's all in the wrist." he motions me to come over. "You have to flick the wrist just right." He demonstrates and the rock skips three times. I pick up a smooth rock and try it. It sinks to the bottom. "Try it again." He encourages. I pick up another rock, it also sinks.

"Here." Nathaniel steps behind me and grabs my wrist, "Just let go." The rock flies into the stream and skips once before sinking.

"Good!" He says, "try again." He puts another rock in my palm and grasps my wrist. His arm is around my other arm and I hear Tyrone, ' _oohing'_ in the background. He guides my wrist again and this time the rock skips three times. I feel my face heat up, what is this feeling? I only ever felt this one other time, and it was with Tobias Eaton from _Divergent_. Is it possible I have feelings for Nathaniel? I shake that thought off almost instantly.

'Try on your-" Nathaniel gasps and we both turn around. A pillar of fire from the sky is hitting the shore only a few feet away from where we are standing. Tyrone scrambles away from it, causing him to tumble in the icy water.

"Rachel." Nathaniel moans.

"Huh?"

Before he can answer, a human silhouette forms in the middle of the fire. The fire fades away quickly, revealing a woman about the age of twenty. Her red hair frames her shoulders and face and her green eyes dance with fire. "Nate!" She says excitedly. She pulls him into a bone crushing hug.

"Why are you even here? I thought you were busy saving the universe or fighting a machine-gun-using raccoon, or something." Nathaniel says.

"I sense trouble at home and took sometimes off."

"Great. This is my sister, She's an alien." He introduces her to me.

Rachel glares at her brother. "Actually I'm inhabited by an alien, I _am_ of earth."

"Oh, I'm Laikyn," I say awkwardly.

Rachel did not seem to bad, but Nathaniel seemed very agitated by her arrival. They must have one of those love/hate sibling relationships.

The four of us go back up to the mansion. Rachel and Nathaniel go ahead of us while Tyrone and I linger back for a moment to give the siblings some space.

"That Rachel is hot." Tyrone picks at the corner of his book absentmindedly while he watches her going up the yard. "And I'm not just saying that since she can control fire with her mind."

"Aww, Do you have a little crush?" I ask.

"Yeah, I do." He nods. "Like you have on Nathaniel."

My face grows hot again. "W-what? I do not!" I swing my backpack over my shoulder and storm off to the school. No way I have a crush on Nathaniel. Right? I like him, don't get me wrong, but I do not have a crush on him.

To be continued

 **Author's notes: what do you all think? comments and crisism is always appreciated. I am torn with how I want the story to lead, but if any of you want to see a character or scene in here let my know and I'll try to work it in. Yes, the alien that is inhabiting Rachel is the Phoenix. No, these characters are not the ones from the comics but are obviously based on them, and yes, I am obsessed with the Summers/Grey bloodline ;). Anyhoo, I hope all your beautiful readers are doing well. Cheers!**


	6. Chapter 6

The Cafeteria is crowded and all the chatter echoes off the walls, making it extremely loud. I spot Rachel and Nathaniel over by the staff table. Dr. Grey and Mr. Summers are standing and taking turns hugging Rachel while Nathaniel stays back a few feet with a board expression.

"Yep, He looks amused, doesn't he?" Tyrone says sarcastically, "he got used to being the only kid after she left for space, Christmas is always a disaster, They get the same amount of gifts, but since she was gone all year, Dr. Grey and Mr. Summers pay more attention to her."

"Wait, they're their parents?" I ask. Okay, now that I see it, Nathaniel looks a lot like Mr. Summers. And I knew Rachel's was Dr. Grey's daughter, but I didn't know that Dr. Grey and Mr. Summers were married. Man, that's complicated.

"Yeah, the legendary Phoenix and Cyclops are parents now." Tyrone pushes his way towards the hot bar, "You coming, Chemistry Queen?"

I realize I had been staring at Nathaniel. I sheepishly turn around. "Yeah, and don't call me _Chemistry Queen_ ," I say.

"Whatever floats your boat, Chemistry Queen." He smirks and piles fish sticks onto his tray.

"you're going to get it." I grab my own tray and head towards the pizza.

Illyanna waves from her table. Her tray is full of French fries, which happen to be her favorite food ever, and a grilled cheese. "Hi!" She dips a fry in barbecue sauce and puts it in her mouth, which gains an odd look from Tyrone.

"There's a thing known as ketchup, ya know." he says as he sits beside me.

"Your point?" Illyanna flips her hair behind her back and grins as Tyrone dips his fish stick in honey mustard, which to me seems even grosser than barbecue sauce. "Hey Tyrone, ya know there's a thing called ketchup right?" Illyanna smirks at her comeback.

"Haha, walked into that one, didn't I.," he says dryly.

"You usually sit with Tandy, is she OK?" Illyanna changes the subject.

"Oh, she's fine, she was up all night studying so she's skipping dinner," Tyrone says.

I watch as Nathaniel reluctantly sits next to his sister, who is chatting away with her parents, at the staff table. This must be their version of a Family Dinner. I can only imagine how hard it is to be the kids of two teachers here. He does something wrong and they have the power to give him both detention and ground him.

"Yoohoo, earth to Laikyn," Illyanna says.

I have my slice of pizza hovering a few inches below my mouth. "Oh, what?" I ask.

"Are you OK? You have seemed out of it since geology class."

Oh, yeah, I'm just tired."

"And she has a crush on-"

"Tyrone!" I snap, "My gosh, Nathaniel was right, you are annoying."

"Hey, don't judge the way I was born." He boldly bites off half of a fish stick.

Illyanna tries to hide her laughter by taking a drink of her juice, but she ends up choking on it.

Some time passes while Tyrone begins to rant about his English report that's due tomorrow, "It's just not fair." he says, "Why does anyone care about Shakespeare anyway? He's confusing and like a million years old."

"He is one of the best authors ever." Illyanna scolds, "A lot of people look up to him."

"You want to know the best author ever? Doctor Seuss. That guy's got some skills."

"As much as I enjoy a good book about a cat wearing a hat, his stories aren't very academic," Illyanna says.

"Since when have you cared if something is academic or not?" I ask.

She shrugs and continues on to her grilled cheese.

Suddenly the Cafeteria goes pitch black. The sound of chairs scraping the floor and muffled crunches of people running into things or each other fills the room. Cellphone screens light up so the entire Cafeteria looks like the audience at a concert.

"Blackout!" Tyrone says.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Illyanna remarks, turning on her own phone. The light illuminates her blue eyes and hair, making her look ghoulish. "I thought the school had generators for times like these."

"Everyone calm down!" Mr. Summer's voice bellows through the room. "Dr. McCoy has gone to check the generators until he comes back please stay in here."

"Tandy, she's up in her room." Tyrone moans.

"She'll be OK." Ilyanna reassures him, "Can't she glow or something?"

"She can form daggers from psychic energy, which do glow some, but it could be more than a power out, I need to go check on her." and with that, he disappears, Literally he sinks through the floor.

"Tyrone." Illyanna moans. "He never listens to rules!" She falls back into her chair and takes another fry off her tray.

"Don't worry about him, it's you that you need to be worried about." A breathy voice speaks from behind me, at first I think it's Lance or one of his cronies, but Illyanna shines her phone behind me and her eyes grow wide.

I turn around and a red humanoid stands behind me. His pointed teeth look like they can rip apart human flesh, his pupilless eyes reflex the light, and his black, greasy, hair stands at all angles. He is dressed in all black, except for his tail, which is pointed at the end. His entire image makes me go, demon!

Gasps and sobs from the other students prove that they have spotted this blood-red demon guy. Ms. Monroe runs over, "Azazel!" She demands, "What is the meaning of his?" before she gets half way over, there is a sound like a sword being unsheathed and a cold blade pushes against my throat. I'm yanked up out of my chair and his claw-like hand wraps around my forearm so tightly I lose feel in my fingers. A lump forms in my throat from fear. This never happened at my old school.

"Stop right there or the girl gets decapitated!" Ms. Monroe freezes, her eyes are wide, but otherwise, she looks calm. _Stay where you are._ I think. I really don't want to lose my head today.

A ray of red shoots towards us, but before it can hit us, there is a pulling feeling in my gut and then all I can see is red smoke. My lungs feel like deflated balloons and I struggle to breathe. My heartbeat begins to slow down, this must be what death feels like.

Then my feet touch something hard and my knees buckle. I cough and take a deep breath of air that smells like; _brimstone?_ Azazel walks around me and pulls me up by my arm. As far as the eye can see there are only soot-covered rocks walls oozing with lava, the floor and ceiling are black with soot as well. The room, if you can call it that, is round with metal jail cells filling the wall. A black throne, which seems to be made of bones, is situated in the middle.

"Welcome to the Afterlife," Azazel says.

"You _did_ kill me?" I cough.

"No, a dead hostage is no use to me."

"Hostage?" I repeat weakly.

"Yes, for the X-Men of course."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because they owe me money," Azazel explains.

I look at him with a puzzled expression, "So you kidnapped me because they owe you money?" I could not believe this. I had only been at this school for a month, there is no way I'm a suitable hostage. And why do demons even need money? Does the Afterlife have a Dead-R-Us?

"I know what your thinking, that they won't care about you, won't care if you die. But what you don't know is that you are extremely powerful. You have the ability to control the entire animal population and that is not a power the mighty X-Men are going to let die away."

"What are you, a telepath too?"

He leers at me. No, not at me, at my neck. Almost like he's trying to find the best place to bite.

"Now, get to sleep, you are going to be here for awhile. With a bellowing laugh that bounces off the walls, he throws me into an open jail cell.

To Be Coninued

 **Author's notes: What do you all think? Azazel is on of my favorite supervillians in the movies so I had to add him in :) I wanted some action because I don't usually do the whole "Romance" Story thing. So I figured sending Laikyn to the afterlife would be pretty action-y. I was originally going to go on a completly different path. but that just proves how much a story can evolve (Lol no pun intended since their mutants (okay, pun intended)) from what you first plan.**

 **Remember, Critism and Suggestions are always welcome. Have a great weekend and See you on Monday(hopefully) for another epic chapter. Cheers!**

 **P.S. What do you think of the cover photo? I found a cool bookcover generator online :)**


	7. Chapter 7

It takes me awhile to fall asleep, which I don't understand since it's not like I'm in a prison cell in the afterlife or anything. But when I finally do, my dreams are haunted by the death screams of my family.

At one point, my mom and dad are driving down a long stretch of road when a giant shadow covers the car. The exchange looks, the car veers off the road and the shadow turns into a knife. Their high-pitch screams are the last thing I hear before the dream changes. Next, I'm doing my homework in my old bedroom with Luke licking my toes and Lilly sleeping on my pillow. Then a vulture swoops through the window, shattering the glass, and grabs Lilly with its talons and leaves. Lilly's cries of help echoes throughout the dream. Luke still continues licking my toes. "Stop, Luke," I say, but he continues. "Stop!" The vulture swoops back in towards Luke, "Stop!" I'm almost screaming.

Then everything does stops. The vulture freezes in mid flap, Luke's tongue ceases to move. The only thing moving is Nathaniel, who appears in the middle of my bedroom. "Hang tight, Laikyn," He says, "There is not much time for us, but we will find a way to get you out of there, I promise." With that, he vanishes. The vulture gets closer to Luke, and Luke continues to lick my toes. "Stay away from him!" I shout at the vulture, but it keeps coming. With his sharp talons, he grabs Luke and pulls him off the bed and out the window. I scream at the vulture to give him back, but He flies farther into the distance. I fall onto the carpet and sob. I can still feel Luke's tongue against my toes. "Stop it," I beg. "Please Stop, Luke!"

I feel myself waking up. I can feel the cold stone floor under me and behind me, but that is the only thing that feels like the cell I was I put in a little while ago. Something soft, furry and huge is beside me. I open my eyes and almost scream. A giant black dog is curled up next to me, We're talking, Clifford the big red dog's bigger cousin. His head is at my feet, licking my shoes and covering them in drool. But his head and shoulders are the only things that fits in the cell. His front paws are the size of garbage can lids, and his tongue is like a dolphin. The skin under its red eyes is droopy, resembling a basset hound but its teeth are more like a wolf's.

"Calm down." The giant dog says. "I don't usually bite.

"W-What are you?" I stutter.

"Jeramy the Hell Hound, at your service." The dog says.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I figured you'd need company while you wait for your peoples." Jeremy rubs up against my leg, pushing me into the wall. "Your shoes are very tasty."

"Uh, Thanks," I say. I'm still wearing my old ones from the stream. They are sweat-covered, mud-stained and now drool-drenched.

"How did you get into the cell anyway?" I ask. I remember Azazel closing the door and locking it.

"Magic!" Jeramy says.

"Wait, really?"

" Nah. Just used my teeth, but I wanted to see what you'd say."

I roll my eyes. "Will they feed me?" I feel my stomach rumble as I say it.

"Yeah, Probably. You heard what Azazel said, a dead hostage is no use to me. He'll probably keep you in tip-top condition."

The sound of footsteps makes Jeremy's ears go back. "That would be Boss, Hang tight, Laikyn." And with that, he fades away until the only thing remaining of him is the puddle of drool he left at my feet.

"Hello dear." Azazel stands in front of my cell, his pearl-like eyes shine in the orangish light, making them illuminate. He holds a metal tray of soggy brown stuff.

"I see your precious friends have not arrived yet. Nevertheless, I am confident they will come. Here is your breakfast." He drops the tray and shuts the cell door behind me, mumbling something about _that blasted dog_. I figure he's talking about Jeremy.

I watch him saunter to the bone throne, he looks around the round room with a satisfied smile. It's like he's walking through a beautiful park in spring and not a volcanic underworld full of prison cells.

I scoop up some of the brown stuff from the tray. It seems like a combination of meat and soggy rye bread. I put a little in my mouth, expecting to spit it out, but it has no flavor at all. I choke the rest down quickly so I won't dwell on the texture. It wasn't satisfying but at least my stomach is sort of full now.

Leaving the tray beside the bars, I sit back in the corner again. I don't fall asleep for fear of having another nightmare, but I focus on Nathaniel's promise We will find a way get you out. I have no clue if it was just a dream or not, but it calms me. Even if I don't believe it, it makes me feel like I'm more important than I thought.

I sit here for what seems like forever. It could have only been twenty minutes, could have been twenty hours. Either way, I have no sense of time. Suddenly I hear yelling. I look out through the bars; a skinny man held by three small red creatures holding guns is being forced to Azazel's throne. His blue eyes are sunken in and his skin is sickly pale with a scar going down his left cheek. I don't think he's dead, but he's hardly alive.

"Let me go, Azazel!" The man yells.

Azazel looks at him, his lip curls into a malicious grin. For being a demon, he sure smiles a lot. "Let go of him, Bamfs." With three puffs of smoke the small, red creatures vanish, leaving the man to collapse on the floor.

"Let's play a game, Mr. Drake. You get the X-Men here, I'll grant you your freedom."

"I'll never betray my friends." Mr. Drake says. With that, He raises his hand towards Azazel. Frost forms on his hand, but his hand weakly falls back down.

"You should know your powers won't work, Drake." Azazel laughs coldly, "But remember what you're risking. If you don't do this, you'll never see your wife again."

Mr. Drake smiles slightly. "Zelda." He looks up at Azazel, "Very well."

 _Zelda Drake_. Why does that name sound so familiar? Wait, Mrs. Drake's our neighbor. Her husband was seemingly killed, but what if he wasn't. I was told by their chihuahua, Sugar, that he was taken by men with guns, what if these 'men with guns' were these Bamfs? I think I might have just unlocked more than I bargained for; a not-so-murder mystery.

 **Author's notes: Hey all! My apologies for the shorter chapter, with Easter and stuff I couldn't write over the weekend, then last night my cat got sick and had to go to the vet, so it's been a pretty busy (and stressful) weekend. But this next chapter will be much longer. Anyway, let me know what you all think so far. Cheers!**


	8. Chapter 8

Azazel snaps his fingers and with a puff of smoke, a Bamf appears. It grabs Mr. Drake by the wrist and vanishes again. Then Azazel turns to my cell, "apparently," He says, "He's more eager to betray the X-Men then you are. I admire your bravery, honesty, but it does not assist me any."

I feel my face heat up. Not because I'm embarrassed, or even because it's like eighty some degrees here, it's because I'm furious. I stand up and my fists clench at my sides. "I have no clue what you're talking about, but if you even thought for one moment I'd cooperate with you, then you really didn't know what you got yourself into when you took me, you… you demon!" My moment of heroism does not last long.

"That's what you think, I am a demon? I'll have you know, I am a Demonic Humanoid Mutant." If possible, his eyes appear to flash with anger. "And I'll have you know I knew completely what I was getting myself into. Do you think I just kidnapped Robert? No, It took him five years to finally agree."

"Agree to what?" I snap.

"To lure the X-Men here. Dear, that's all I want. For them to for them not to take me for granted and just pay up what they owe me. But no, they think I don't need the money because I spend most times guarding the prison. Hey! Maybe I like going on a shopping spree once in awhile, did they ever think of that. No! Because they only ever think of themselves!" he grips the bars until his knuckles turn blue. his pointed teeth are bared and a glint in his pupilless eyes give the impression that he's crazy.

I'm taken back by his sudden rant. What does he even shop for? If I weren't one of the ones he's trying to get to lure the X-Men to the afterlife, I may think this situation was hilarious. If I survive this, it may be the weirdest story I'll have to tell my grandkids. _I remember when I was your age, I was kidnapped by an insane demon guy and used as bait to lure a group, who owed him money, to the afterlife. So remember, little Sammy, if you think you are trapped in hell when you're in school, just remember Grandma Laikyn really was trapped in hell._

I don't know which is the most preposterous thought, the fact that I'll get out alive or the fact that I'll have kids to give me grandkids one day.

Azazel unlocks my cell and yanks me out. "Come with me." he hisses.

I have no choice but to follow. We go down the lava dripping Hallway to another room, possibly his bedroom if Demonic mutant dudes, or whatever he said he is, sleeps. He opens the door and two Bamfs take hold of my wrists. Their claw-like hands are rough and dry.

The room itself surprises me. In the corner, there is a jail cell with Mr. Drake but that is the only thing that resembles the outside of this room. The rest looks like a television studio like my dad works at. Bright lights shine into the cell with a camera pointing in. A sound booth, ran by Bamfs wearing headpieces and drinking mugs of steaming mugs of red stuff (hopefully not blood), takes up the rest of the room. Azazel himself stands in front of the cell. He points to the Bamf running the camera and the little light turns on telling it's recording.

"Hello, X-Men." Azazel says, "As you can see, I am a step ahead of you, as always, and this should give you enough incentive to bring me what you owe me." He steps out of the frame, revealing Mr. Drake to the camera. He sits in the corner of the cell, the bright lights make him look more sickly and thin then he did in the reddish light.

"And if that is not enough incentive," he points in my direction and the camera turns, "This should be." The Bamf to my right waves to the camera.

I see myself on the screen in the sound booth. My hair is in a mangle of knots and I'm am already almost as pale as Mr. Drake. I extremely thin before, but I am now, just not the healthy-looking thin. How long have I been here?

The camera goes back on Azazel. "Your payment is due December second, and I expect the full amount." Wait, December second? That's like a month away.

The Bamfs busy themselves with converting the video to a CD while Azazel Unlocks the cell and yanks Mr. Drake from the floor.

"Take care of her," Azazel tells the Bamfs holding me.

"Yes, Boss." The one says in a squeaky voice, It's the first time I even heard them talk and I wonder if they all sound like Sméagol.

"You're going to keep me captive for a month?" I call to him.

"A month? No, December second is in four days, dear." He continues to half-drag, half-carry, Mr. Drake from the room.

Man, I really don't have any sense of time here.

The Bamfs take me to the cell and the one pats my head. "It is okay. Boss not as bad as he looks."

"Easy for you to say," I say, trying to ignore the Bamf's bad grammar. "You're not his prisoner."

"Yes." The Bamf says, "He take us captive from our Brimstone Dimension to work here. We does not want to leave, but he made us."

"Really?" I ask, I almost feel bad for the Bamfs.

"We want out as much as you. We want go home too!"

"We can not!" the other Bamf cuts in. "Boss is our master, we not going to fight him, not again."

Bamf #1 pouts. "We could try. More of us now."

Bamf #2 shakes his shaggy head, "No! No! No! We must be loyal to Boss."

Bamf #1 Looks down at his sloth-like feet. " But me do not want to."

I look into Bamfs #1's yellow eyes, Okay, I can't keep calling them bamfs #1 and #2, "Do you have names?"

"I Varidi." Bamf #1 says. "This is Loukas."

Loukas looks grim if a demon looking thing with the face of an elf could look grim."I do not want a prisoner using my name." He crosses his arm in front of his bare chest.

"We are both prisoners." I say, "remember?"

"No, I not a prisoner." He turns out of the cell, "Good day!' And storms out of view.

"Do not mind Brother, He thinks he is Boss's favorite. Very full of himself he is."

"I understand," I say.

I think of something, "Do you really want out?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Do you think others do too?"

"Yes."

"Can you teleport out of this place?"

"No, but I know someone who can." Varidi smiles, "Why?'

"Because I think I just figured a way to break us both out."

Varidi's toothy grin makes his eyes squinty. "Two questions. When? And How?

Later that day...I think but seriously I have no track of time here.

Varidi guards my cell. When Azazel is no watching he'll whisper something about the plan.

Here's the plan; After Azazel leaves to "recharge" as Varidi words it, The Bamfs who want to leave are going to gather with Mr. Drake, Me and no one other than Jeremy the Hellhound, who can travel through different dimensions. Jeremy is going to teleport with us to my dimension, drop off Mr. Drake and me, and then bring the Bamfs to their dimension. It is an easy plan as long as we don't get caught.

"We gotta go to the Purg , there Jeremy can teleport out."

"Purg? Like as in Purgatory?" I ask.

"Yes, but that is too hard for Bamfs to say," Varidi says.

"I can see that."

Azazel stands up from his bone throne, and with a small backbend he looks towards Varidi and me, "I must go now, Bamf, You are stationed here all night, but if you fail me, I will give your job to your brother."

"Yes, Boss."

Azazel goes down the stone corridor until I cannot see him anymore.

"In five minutes we go," Varidi says. "Bamfs and Jeremy will be waiting with Drake when We find them."

"Okay."

Soon, Varidi is unlocking my cell and leading me down another corridor. At the end of the dark hall, I see a group of short demons, a huge dog, and a man, yep, our escape group is weird.

Mr. Drake smiles at me. "Laikyn, isn't it?" I ask.

"Yes." I say, "I think I was neighbors with your wife."

"Starr, is that right? Laikyn Starr?"

"Yes."

He smiles even more, "Yes, your mother makes delicious cookies, she brought them when Zelda and I moved in."

"Cookies? I want Cookies." One of the Bamfs says.

Mr. Drake chuckles. "I could use some good chocolate chip right about now."

"Let's go get Cookies!" One Bamf screams, then he stops, "wait, what are cookies?"

Jeremy lays down, "all aboard."

I climb up onto his back and help Mr. Drake up. The Bamfs walk around him like a group of personal bodyguards.

"Let's go!" Validi says.

With that command, the group of us walk down the hall. II cling onto Jeremy's fur. if I look down I get nauseous, apparently, I have a fear of heights, or just being on very tall dogs.

We turn into a brightly lit hall made completely of marble. An Alcove with doors leading into a dark room in beside us, The hall continues into a brightly-lit gold-wall hall, but it's blocked with a group of Bamfs. Evil-looking Bamfs holding rocks, balls of metal, wood, anything that they could find for a weapon they have. And at the front of them all, Loukas stands, holding a large piece of rock. "This is where you stop, traitors!"

 **Author's notes: Hello all you Sweeties out there :) So, Bamfs are real characters in X-Men as you may know, but I changed them slightly. I needed a** ** _cutsie_** **Character, thus I came up with them. According to X-Men Wiki, they are bred from either Nightcrawler's or Azazel's blood in the Brimstone dimention (I think I understood that right) and they cause Mischief. In, I believe, The Wolverine and the X-Men comics (which I could not get into, sadly), On the day of the re-opening of the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning, The bamfs infiltrated the Mansion and wrecked havok, they especially enjoyed Wolverine's beer supply and his karate D.V.D.s if I remember right lol. Anyway, I promise the Next chapter will be longer, It's been a stressful week and I have not felt like writing much. But next week I may even get three chapters out, one on Monday and Two on Thursday, mainly because I am going to be gone the next monday and won't have a chance to upload. anywhy, Cheers until Monday! Have a great Weekend.**


	9. Chapter 9

Jeremy stops in his tracks. The Loyal-to-Azazel Bamfs begin to surround us. Their yellow eyes flash with excitement as the walk in unison around our group.

"What now, Laikyn?" Jeremy whimpers.

After we are surrounded by them, the Loyal Bamfs raise their weapons and attack.

Within seconds, half of the rebel Bamfs are down on the marble floor. They flare their arms trying to keep the others off of them. Rocks are thrown, one hits me in the foot, causing me to tumble from Jeremy's back and onto a loyal Bamf.

Claws wrap around my arms and legs as I try to get up. I look frantically around for help, Mr. Drake is being pulled off of Jeremy by Bamfs while Jeremy is being catapulted with rocks and hunks of metal. He yelps and cowers on the floor.

"You will not leave without Boss's payment! We are his army and will not fail him!" One hisses in my ear. _Great_. I think, _Now they know proper grammar._

Blood pours from my arms and legs from where their claws dig in. my left shoulder is hit by a rock, it throbs as the Bamfs push me farther in the ground. My body can't handle the strain, I fight against them as best I could. When I finally think I have a wrist or ankle free, their grip just gets tighter.

"Help," I gasp. Black dots dance in my eyes and I feel my body getting weaker. My eyes close right before I hear a howl.

A dozen Hellhounds bound towards us. Each dog has razor sharp fangs and claws, and are feet taller than Jeremy.

"For Laikyn!" the front hound yells.

"For Laikyn!" The rest repeat.

The Bamfs don't see it coming. They are pounced, clawed, and bit until almost all of them were down. The only ones left were the rebels and the ones holding Mr. Drake and I. The closest Hellhound runs towards me, his fangs drip with blood as he grabs a Bamf and shakes him like a chew toy.

"Let go!" The Bamf yells. He gets spit out and crumbles to the floor.

"Who's next!" The hellhound growls.

The rest of the loyal Bamfs scurry away after seeing how their friend was so easily converted to a squeaky toy.

After my body is free, the hellhound nuzzles me and covers me with drool.

"Are you okay, Laikyn?" He asks.

I stand up, and wipe a combination of blood and drool off of my hands and onto my pants.

"I guess I'm okay." I say, "I mean my name is a battle cry, that's pretty awesome."

"I am Ekon." The hellhound says, "The leader of the hellhounds." He licks the blood off his teeth, making him look less like he wants to destroy the entire world, but he's definitely not an everyday show poodle.

Validi comes up to me, a streak of black covers half his face, and the same oozes from his arm, but he's smiling. '"We can go now! Brother is gone and we can go!" He grabs my hand with his sticky one and jumps in excitement.

I search the wreckage for Mr. Drake, he is pushed up against the wall, trying to get away from a hellhound who is licking his wounds.

"Kalmin, get off of him." Ekon growls.

"Yes, sir." Kalmin the hellhound steps back from Mr. Drake, who then stands up and looks at me with unbelief etched over his face. "Did that just happen?"

I nod. "Uh-huh. This is Ekon, by the way." I nod towards the leader of the hellhounds, who bows.

"Uh, hello." Mr. Drake squeaks.

The rebel Bamfs begin to gather. No one's dead that I could tell, just injured; Very injured.

"Everyone get on." Ekon and his followers, including Jeremy, bow. I climb onto Ekon's back, followed by Validi, who has a lot of trouble getting onto him with his short legs.

After everyone was situated, Ekon barks and then with a huge puff of smoke, we teleport.

Once again, my heart slows down and my lungs feel empty.

As more smoke clears out, I see Westchester County. It's street lights are shining over piles of dirty snow. My ripped t-shirt and shorts don't do much in the cold and within second;s I'm shivering.

We ended up in the middle of s street, but no cars are around. Which is probably good, because I'm not sure how America would react to seeing an army of giant dogs and red elves.

"I thought we had to go to purgatory-"

"That is only with one or two hellhounds since that is where the veil between the worlds are thin. With an army, we can travel from anywhere."

"Convenient," I say.

"Our time together has come to end," Ekon says as I climb down. "I do wish our paths will cross again, Your Highness."

"Uh, don't call me that," I say awkwardly.

"Then what do you suggest we call you?"

I remember my dad and say, "Call me the Whisperer."

"Yes, Whisperer. There will be stories written about your greatness one day."

"What? I'm nobody special." I shiver against the cold.

"You freed the Bamfs and your friend from Azazel, that will not go unnoticed." Ekon shakes his head, "But you must be careful. Azazel does not forget things easily. He will do all in his power to make your life miserable."

"Thanks for the warning, I guess." I really don't want my life to be made miserable, and now that I am back in my own dimension all I want to have to worry about is the MRD and school. Okay, don't even want to worry about the MRD, but hey, life can't be perfect.

"You should be going back to your school, remember my warning, Whisperer."

I say goodbye to Validi and Jeremy, then Mr. Drake and I begin our journey across Westchester to the school.

"I was not expecting that." He says. He still looks like someone who'd been through a lot, but he seemed to have a lot of energy and was able to hold his own weight.

"What?" I ask.

"Being captured by Azazel for one thing, but then getting help to escape by some hellhounds and Bamfs was a completely different level." He smiles in the street lamp light.

"Definitely weird." is all I can say.

Then Mr. Drake turns to me, "what happened to Zelda?" He asks.

"Oh, she still lives next door to my parents. She adopted a Chihuahua named Sugar, I think she works at Walmart. She misses you, Mr. Drake."

"Call me Bobby, I mean we have been through hell and back, literally, I don't think we have to be formal." he laughs, "she hasn't remarried?"

"Not that I know of."

"That's good."

 **An hour later.**

By the time we get to the school, both of us are frozen. The gate is locked, but Bobby puts his thumb on a glass sheet and a robotic voice speaks, "Drake, Robert, welcome."

The gate swings open and I follow him in.

We get to the front step of the school. He knocks and a few minutes pass while we wait. Soon Ms. Monroe is coming to the door. She wears a pale yellow nightgown and a shocked expression.

"Oh my, Bobby!" she opens the door and hugs him. "How?"

"It was Laikyn and a bunch of huge dogs actually," Bobby tells her. I feel my cheeks glow hot, it's a good thing it's dark.

Ms. Monroe actually hugs me next, which is awkward. "I don't believe it! Oh, my look at you! We'll get Doctor Grey here right away. Come in!"

The warmth from the fire in the fireplace warms the entire mansion. Professor Xavier and Dr. McCoy sit in the lounge with mugs of steaming hot cocoa. According to the clock on the mantle, it's half past twelve.

"Laikyn! Robert!" Professor Xavier exclaims.

"Oh my stars and garters, how did you get out alive?" Dr. McCoy Nearly drops his mug when he sees us.

Bobby tells the story while Ms. Monroe pours us both mugs of hot cocoa until Dr. Grey arrives, she assigns Bobby to the infirmary almost immediately. I, however, she said I could wait because My wounds weren't bad. Soon, I'm sent to bed and after a much-needed shower, I fall asleep almost instantly.

To Be Continued

 **Author's notes: Hey all you beautiful readers! Hope you are all doing well and enjoyed the chapter. Any comments and suggestions are welcome! Thursday will have two chapters because next Monday I will not be able to post. see you all later. Cheers!**


	10. Chapter 10

After a few days, everything goes back to normal through the day. Illyanna hardly lets me out of her sight. Not like it would stop Azazel from taking me again, and that is why I can hardly sleep at night.

I curl up against my headboard with _The Maze Runner._ The desk lamp is the only light on, but it's enough for me to read. I get to chapter twenty just as there is a knock on my door. I glance over at my alarm clock, it's 11:23, after curfew. No one should be out of bed now. I'm reluctant to open the door, I have no way of knowing if it's Azazel or not.

"Laikyn, It's me, Can I come in?" Nathaniel calls. I've been avoiding him a lot since I came back. Every time I see him, all I can think about is him being in my nightmare.

"Uh, I guess." I gulp and lay the book beside me as the door opens.

"Hello," he says. "What's up?"

"Just reading," I say, nodding towards the book.

"Ah, nice. I like Minho."

"Newt's my favorite," I say.

"I'm so sorry." He says.

"Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Anyway, can I sit?"

"I guess."

He pushes aside my blanket and sits. I stare at my lap for a minute.

"Hello." He says again, this time sort of awkward.

"Hi."

This is one of the first times we had been alone. The only other time was when we first met, any other time we're with Illyanna or Tyrone.

"How did you do it?" He asks finally.

"Do what?"

"Escape? There is no way you could have done it when Uncle Bobby had been there for five years without a successful attempt."

"Uh, I don't know."

"It seems almost impossible that someone could save both the entire group of Bamfs, and they're own butt with only a few weeks of training."

"Excuse me?" I say, "are you implying I can't take care of myself?"

"No, it's just-" Nathaniel freezes, obviously not sure whether to leave or make amends for what he just said.

"I don't need a prince to save me. I'm no damsel in distress. I was taken by a crazed demon guy, I did the most logical thing I could think of, _I made allies!_ "

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, you-"

"Yeah, try making up. Good luck with that." I snap. All the emotions I had been feeling in the past month is coming out. I felt almost nothing when I was in the afterlife, but when I got back, anxiety and fear have been a huge weight on my chest and now I feel like I'm going to explode.

"Laikyn…"

"Time traveled so fast there! I didn't realize I was there for a month. Nathaniel, I was there for over a freaking month and no one did anything! So I saved myself." tears pool in my eyes and I blink, causing them to stream down my cheeks.

Nathaniel looks at me with wide eyes. The shy girl is actually opening up, falling apart in front of his eyes.

"You definitely are not a damsel in distress. you are more of a Warrior, like uh, Tris, or Katniss." He punches me awkwardly in my shoulder. "Come on, does that get some brownie points? I only know who those characters are because you bored me to death by practically reciting their Wiki pages."

'Thanks." I wipe the tears from my eyes. He's obviously trying to make it up to me if he's using book terms. I'm all of the suddenly absolutely mortified about breaking down. "Sorry, you had to see that."

"Hey, no problems, Laikyn, I...I…" He pauses.

I scoot closer to him.

"One more thing," I say.

'Huh?" He rubs the back of his neck nervously.

I muster up all the courage I can, even more than what I needed when I was in the afterlife, and say. "I...I like you."

"Oh."

That isn't a good sign. He said Oh, like it disappointed him, _Crap._

"Sorry, that was awkward of me." He starts. "But hey, I like you too, I just thought Tyrone was kidding when he told me you had a crush on me, like just getting false hopes up or something."

"Uh…"

"I like you too, like a lot. I just didn't expect you to chew me out one second then the next admit your feelings. Aw man, I'm being really awkward, I'm sorry, Laikyn." he gives me an apologetic expression. "So, are we like boyfriend-girlfriend now?" he adds nervously.

"I guess." I say, "I'm unsure how this works. Do we have to sign a contract, or make a blood oath, or is there another way to make it official."

I look into his hazel eyes, then I look down trying to figure out what to do now.

"How about this." He says. The scoots closer to me and puts his finger under my chin. _Is this real life?_ I've seen this in movies but never realized this really happened! I get closer, turning my head slightly until our lips touch. His warmth spreads across my body, making me feel warm and tingly inside. He pulls away and looks down at his Yoda slippers. I look down too, knowing my face is red and a huge grin is washing across my face.

Then Nathaniel bursts out laughing. "I can't believe you wanted to make a blood oath. I think that was much better."

"Yeah," I say, "much better."

 **The next day.**

Nathaniel finds me in the hall as I walk down to breakfast.

"Going to breakfast?" He asks.

"Of course, Silly," I say.

In the cafeteria, Nathaniel piles his tray with french toast sticks. I fill mine with a waffle and strawberries.

At the table, Tyrone is doing his best to throw donut holes into his mouth while Illyanna and Tandy ignore him. Tandy's long bleach-blond hair is draped over her shoulders and her gray eyes look like they should have the ability to pierce anything if she stares long enough. Yet, she looks softly at us as Nathaniel pulls the seat out for me. I glance over at him and he smiles.

Illyanna rests her head on her hand and I get the feeling she didn't sleep much last night, with all the exams coming up before Christmas break, she's been busy studying for all the classes she's stopped paying attention to halfway through. So, all of them.

"G'morning," Tyrone says in his fake Australian accent that gains a look from Tandy everytime he uses it.

"Hey." Nathaniel yawns into his juice.

Illyanna perks up and puts a grape in her mouth. "No offense, Laikyn, but you look awful, did you sleep at all?" The truth was no, but they don't need to know that.

"I was thinking the same thing, but I didn't say anything for fear that I'd lose my girlfriend after nine hours," Nathaniel says.

"Woah, what now?" Illyanna almost spits out her hot cocoa.

Tyrone actually does spit out his milk, "Hallelujah! They're finally together! Have you kissed yet?"

Tandy glares at him from across the table.

Nathaniel's face turns pink, _do you want them to know?_ I hear his voice in my mind.

 _I don't care._ I think, hoping he's reading my mind.

"Uh, yeah, we have once."

Illyanna blue eyes are almost as big as her donut. "No way!"

"Yeah." I say "Way."

To be Coninued.

 **Author's notes: So I figured it was time that they Nathaniel and Laikyn got together. The only problem was I wasn't sure how. I've never been in a relationship so I was basically walking blind into this. With the help of Divergent and a few blog posts, I was able to come up with this. Let me know what you think about it. Cheers!**


	11. Chapter 11

The week before Christmas break is packed with exams. Anywhere you turn, Students are sitting at tables, desks, couches, even the floor to study.

I sit at the table in the far corner of the library with Nathaniel. Books are spread out in front of us while I try to help him with his Chemistry homework. "What is a base on the PH scale?" I ask.

"Uh…"

"We literally just went through this," I say.

"Uh…"

"It's anywhere from nine to fourteen on the scale." I say, holding up the diagram of the PH scale for him to see."

"This is too hard!" he moans.

"If you'd pay attention in class-"

"I hear my mom talk all the time, It's hard to focus on here when she teaches!"

"Take a break." I reach my hand over the table, he does the same until our fingers interlock. "But you are going to get this scale down if it's the last thing I do."

I continue with studying my history. I write the answers from the 'Chapter Checkup' section while Nathaniel busies himself with a car made from push pins and an eraser.

"Who was buried under Mount Aetna after challenging Olympus?" I read aloud.

"Typhone," Nathaniel says. He has a much better grade in history then I do.

"Thanks! How do you spell that?"

"T-Y-P-H-..." He's cut off by Tyrone, who storms over to our table with a newspaper in his hand.

"Laikyn, your mom's a lawyer, right?" he asks.

"Yeah."

"Why? Do you need one?" Nathaniel asks.

"No. Is her name Sally Starr?" Tyrone fidgets with the paper.

"Yes, why?" I'm starting to get nervous.

"Because she's missing." Tyrone hands me the paper, and I gasp at the headline.

 _Beloved Lawyer goes missing._

 _Thursday, December fifth, Lawyer Sally Starr was reported missing to the Albany Police department. Her husband, William Starr, came to the station in a panic, saying his wife had been missing for two days. He says that they have been happily married for seventeen years and that she simply vanished through the night. "I don't know why she would leave." Starr tells our reporter through tears, "She isn't one to leave without telling anyone." The search for Lawyer Starr has begun with both the Albany and State Police on the case. From The Daily Bugle, Reporter Tasha Davids. Senior Reporter._

"She's been missing for two weeks," I say through clenched teeth.

"Laikyn, are you okay?" Nathaniel grabs my hand and I realize how much I'm trembling.

"The fifth is when I got back from the Underworld," I say, "Azazel took her."

Tyrone sits next to me, "Don't jump to conclusions, Chemistry Queen. People get kidnapped all the time. She was probably taken by some crazed grocery store owner or something."

Nathaniel nods, although it's not very convincing. "Yeah, Don't worry, Lai, both the city and state police are on the case. They'll find her."

I get up from the table so fast that I knock the chair over. I quickly shove my books into my bag and storm from the library.

"Laikyn, wait! I don't think you should be alone." Nathaniel calls, which gains a "Shhh" from the table next to him.

"Yes, I should be!" I yell. This gains another "Shhh" but I ignore it.

I run to my room, slamming the door behind me. I grab my phone off the desk, I don't carry it around with me because I very rarely have pockets. Checking my messages with shaking hands is hard, but none of them are from my dad. This is serious, why wouldn't he call me?

I select his number from caller ID and put the phone up to my ear. I can hear my rattled breathing echoing off the screen as it rings.

"Hello, Laikyn." My dad answers, "How're your exams going?"

"I haven't taken any yet. What's this about mom missing?" I ask, my heart pounds as I wait for him to answer.

"I... Uhh, Wasn't planning to tell you until Christmas break. It's not exactly something to tell on the phone."

"You guys hadn't been fighting or anything?" I ask.

"No, I promise, Lai, We were perfectly fine. The door was kicked in, that was the only evidence, well unless you count… You know what, nevermind." He sighs into his phone, causing static to fill my hearing.

"What else? What was the other evidence?" I ask.

"Well, the bedroom smelled like sulfur."

I nearly drop the phone. "W-what?" I stammer. My heart races in my throat now and my stomach is in knots. Sulfur is what it smelled like when Azazel teleported.

"Yeah, that was the weirdest thing, I checked everything down in the basement, but everything was working fine." He pauses, "don't worry, Lai, they'll find your mom. But listen, I have to get to a meeting. See you for Christmas break, Love you."

"Love you too." I throw my phone on the bed and rush out of the room. Nathaniel and Illyanna are coming up the hall, "Hey, Laikyn, are you okay?" Illyanna comes to my side and puts an arm around my shaking body.

I feel the tears sting my eyes and I put my face in my hands.

"Laikyn?"

"It was Azazel," I say.

"How'd you find that out?" Nathaniel asks, putting his hand on my shoulder, I shrug both of them off and wipe my eyes dry.

"Because my dad said they're bedroom smelled like sulfur. That's what the smoke that surrounded Azazel when he teleported smelled like."

"Oh." Illyanna's eyes get wide.

"Come on." Nathaniel grabs my hand, "We're assembling the X-Men."

"How?" I ask.

"Don't worry, I have connections."

Twenty minutes later.

I sit in a round room filled with computer monitors and other techy stuff I don't know the meaning for. Dr. McCoy sits nearest the door, Dr. Grey and Ms. Monroe sit on either side of him and Mr. Summers and Rachel, Nathaniel's sister, are typing away on the monitors. Professor Xavier has not arrived yet.

Nathaniel sits next to me, his hand is tightly gripping my own. It'll be okay. He says telepathically. I'm still not used to him talking to me in my mind.

"Laikyn, Where do you parents live?" Mr. Summers asks. I give him the address and he puts it into the computer. Soon, the computer screen changes so that it's a view of the street. He zooms in and speeds up the footage until it is dark.

"We hacked into the street camera on this block and went back to the day of your mother's kidnapping to see exactly what happened," Rachel explains. "Many police departments can do this, but not as thoroughly as we can."

"I didn't even know we had that tech. Is it from the Shi'ar?" Nathaniel asks.

"What part of 'many police departments can do this' don't you understand?" Rachel rolls her eyes.

 _What's the Shi'ar?_ I think, hoping he's listening to my thoughts.

 _It's an alien race. Remember when I said that Rachel's inhabited by an alien? Yeah, it's them._

 _Ohkay._

"Here!" Mr. Summer slow down the footage so we can see. The house is still, then a short, two-foot something walks into the frame. It climbs the steps and turns around.

"Loukas!" I gasp.

"What?" Mr. McCoy asks.

"Loukas, that is one of the Loyal-to-Azazel Bamfs."

"Why would he be here?" Nathaniel asks.

"I don't know, Nate, Maybe the mall was having a sale on 'I'm with demon' shirts," Rachel says sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny." Nathaniel answers.

Loukas then kicks down the door.

"Man, that little thing has a punch, huh?" Nathaniel says.

He disappears out of sight.

"Well, now we know who took Mrs. Starr." Mr. Summers says. "We'll arrange a mission with Kurt, he can get us to the underworld, but we'll need the assistance of someone who can keep us from not getting killed, I'm thinking a hellhound."

I knew what that means. I'm going back to the Afterlife.

To Be Continued

 **Author's notes: as I have said before, I am not one to enjoy a story where everything good happens all the time. I enjoy it when the characters have troubles because that makes them more relatable. With that being said, I want to know what you all think since you are the readers. I was reading this chapter to my cousin and she said that I was making Laikyn sound like a big baby. So for all you that might think that, you all need to understand that she's a 14 year old girl who has been through hell, literally (To quote Iceman there) She has a slight case of PTSD from it and now her mom is taken.**

 **She also does not have the training like the others do. I mean, Nathaniel has basically had it his entire life because of who his parents are. She, on the other hand, is not athletic at all and the only reason she was even able to get out of the Underworld was because of her conection with the Bamfs and Hellhounds. Now after that weird rant, I hope you all enjoyed my twelfth chapter. Remember next monday I am busy (Hints the reason I'm posting double chapters today) So I'll see you all beautiful readers next Thursday!**


	12. Chapter 12

The hope of me not actually going back to the afterlife lasts another few minutes while Mr. Summers calls the guy he called Kurt.

"Okay." Mr. Summers comes into the room, his cell phone still in his hand, "Kurt's in England right now, but he'll help if we pick him up. So, we'll go get him, Then he can teleport to the underworld. Laikyn, do you think you'll be able to contact the hellhounds again?"

My stomach drops. I can't say anything so I just nod.

"Rach, can you take her to get a uniform?" Dr. Grey asks.

"Yeah, sure thing. Come on, Laikyn," Rachel stands up, and I do too, but my legs feel like lead. My entire body feels like it's going to fall apart if I move. Not to mention I'm crazy lightheaded.

I get to the hallway with Rachel. She keeps glancing over at me like I'm a time bomb that's set to blow up. "You know my dad wouldn't let you come if he wasn't absolutely sure it was necessary, right?"

"I guess," I say.

"Hey, Cheer up, Buttercup. They'll do everything in their power to make sure you don't die."

 _That isn't very encouraging._

"Usually schools don't want their students doing anything dangerous at all," I say.

"Yeah, but what's the fun in that?" She smiles at me but stops when she see my expression, which is probably a combination fear and anxiety. "Listen, Laikyn, I know that things are hard for you right now. I don't even need to use my telepathy to know it. Do you remember why I told Nate I came back? I sensed trouble. I don't want to scare you, but I'm sure you already know, The world is changing. In the past few years, Several mutants have been taken by Azazel. More so than my parents are willing to admit."

"But my mom is normal," I say.

Rachel looks skeptically at me for a minute, "Are you sure?" She asks.

"Yeah, she's a lawyer in Albany, not a mutant."

"Sally Starr, right? Use to be Sally Collins?"

"Yes."

"She's a mutant. She uses to come here for a short time, She can adapt to almost anything, water, heat, space, you name it, she can do it." Rachel pauses and puts her arm around my shoulder, Shock boils up in me and it gets really hard to breathe. She continues,"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Something is happening there, something we don't fully understand, but I think you may be our only way of finding out the truth."

"I don't want to be important," I say, "I just want everything to go back to normal with my normal parents and my normal dog and my normal school!" I fear tears pooling up in my eyes and I blink, causing them to roll down my cheeks.

"I know, Laikyn, but your parents weren't normal, at least your mom wasn't. Why do you think she was so quick to send you here? It's because she knew you were in danger if you were on your own. We're here." Rachel leads me to round metal door like the one going into the labs. She types in a code and the doors open in an X.

If I wasn't so nervous, I may be amazed. Mannequins behind sheets of glass wear black, leather… Jumpsuits? Onesies? Each unique from all its neighbors, some had different colors of trim, one had a cape, others just had a different X on the belt.

"If it was any other time, I'd have to go through the entire _uniform ceremony_. They're all different because no mutant is the same, Blah, Blah, Blah. In reality, they're different so we can tell the team members apart, but Proff. X had to have a moral lesson with it. Anyway, how tall are you?"

"5'2," I say.

"Oh, you _are_ short, okay, over here." She puts a code into another panel and a sheet of glass raises into the wall above it, giving her access to a uniform that has lavender trim. "This should fit. Dressing rooms are over there." She points to a door in between to cases, I open the door and step in.

It's really difficult to get the uniform on, but after several minutes I look in the mirror, it fits snuggly against me, so every single curve is shown, making me very self-conscious because it's really easy to see that I had lost _a lot_ of weight.

"How's it going in there?" Rachel calls in.

"Okay, I guess, Is it suppose to be this tight?"

"Come out."

I open the door and she nods, "You get used to it after awhile."

"Will I?"

She smiles, They're not as comfy as a tee and jeans, but they keep you safer."

I guess, In hindsight, I'd rather be alive than comfy. Although both would be very nice.

 **Twenty minutes later.**

I'm sitting in my bedroom, my hair is already tied back in a ponytail (which Rachel said I should do unless I wanted it to be burnt off in a freak accident) My book is opened on my lap, but I'm not reading. My mind spins with everything. _How could my mom be a mutant? Why wouldn't she tell me?_

 _The world is changing_ , now that Rachel said this, I'm seeing it. Many times I've tried to talk to a chipmunk or frog and they've just ignored me, when, before being in the afterlife, I could have hours of conversations with them (chipmunks are especially talkative). I never really paid much attention to it, until now that is. But what could Azazel be doing that affects the animals? Maybe Rachel is wrong, maybe because I was gone for a month, the animals forgot me and when I talked to them, they were just like, _Stranger Danger!_ But I kind of think she's right.

A knock on my door brings me back to reality.

"It's me," Nathaniel's voice follows.

"Come in."

He has on his own uniform, it has white trim. "Hello." he says, Sitting on my bed, "How's it going?"

"It's going."

"So, mom and dad want to leave my four, so we have like an hour to burn."

"Why can't we leave now?" I ask.

He shrugs, "I don't know, I guess they're still planning things. Anyway, want a snack?"

I'm way to nervous to eat, I shake my head and he covers my hand with his own, "you're not doing great, are you?"

"Let's see, We're going back to a place of my nightmares because my mom got captured, no, Nathaniel, I'm doing fine."

"Hey, calm down, Lai. I was nervous on my first mission too," he says.

I stand up and start pacing. "You grew up with it though!" I snap, "Both of your parents are X-Men-"

"Yeah, crazy over-protective X-Men Who wouldn't let me go on the smallest informational mission until I was thirteen. And even then I was so nervous I almost peed myself." He stands up and embraces me, "Listen, you'll do fine, I'll be there."

I lay my head on his shoulder, considering his skinny body, he feels strong, "I'm sorry, it's just, I just found out my mom was a mutant. She never told me I always thought she was a normal lawyer."

"How did you not know that?"

"She just never told me," I repeat, "and I don't think she really had a physical mutation, so It didn't show."

There is another knock on the door, "Laikyn, We're leaving in twenty minutes, so if you want dinner or anything, now's the time to get it." Mr. Summers calls.

"Kay, thanks,"I reply.

"Nachos, here I come!" Nathaniel says, You don't have to come, but it may beat just sitting up here, alone."

 **On the Blackbird**

Let me just say, I have never flown, and never wanted to, yet, here I am, at 39,000 feet squeezing my seatbelt till I lose feeling in my hands, then I squeeze harder. Apparently, I do have a fear of heights.

" _One hundred bottles of beer on the wall. One hundred bottles of beer_!" Rachel begins. Nathaniel, however, shushed her before she finished the first verse.

"What, little bro doesn't like my song?"

"Rachel!" He moans, "No one likes your song."

"Now kids." Ms. Monroe says.

"Sorry, Aunt Ororo." They say in unison.

Everyone here is Aunt or Uncle to them. I'm definitely feeling out of place.

Everyone is quiet for awhile, the only noise is the plane turbines, and even those seem louder than before. Then a voice on the two-way radio breaks the silence, "Uh, guys, Azazel came back. The Professor's gone."

To Be Continued.

 **Author's notes: Hello all my beautiful readers! I hope you are all well! I have had a crazy busy week because it is close to the end of the school year (enter sarcastic voice here) yay exams. Anyway, let me know what you all think, and thanks to those who have commented so far :) I love getting comments, it's really appreciated! See you all on Monday for a new chapter, I'm really excited for it. bye!**


	13. Chapter 13

"What the-" Mr. Summers hisses from the pilot seat. The mood in the plane shifts dramatically, Now the other passengers aren't just quiet, it's an awkward silence full of everyone wanting to say something but not knowing how; like a funeral.

I'll be the first to admit I didn't know Professor Xavier super great. The only times I ever actually talked to him after he called me to his office was in class, and that was usually just asking review questions. I knew almost everyone else looked up to him, and Azazel is crossing a line that he won't be able to get back over.

"All this because we owe him some money?" Nathaniel asks finally.

"No, Nate, it's something bigger than that." Dr. McCoy says, "I fear he may be working with some of our other enemies."

"Like Magneto or Sinister?" Nathaniel suggests. I didn't know who either of those people are, but anyone with a name like Sinister is a bad guy in my book.

"No, not them." Mr. McCoy props his blue, furry cheek onto his fist. He seems like he should be too big for the seat, but he somehow managed to squeeze himself in.

"You don't think it would be-" Ms. Monroe begins.

Dr. Grey interrupts her, "I was thinking the same thing."

"Mind filling us non-psychics in?" Mr. Summers asks.

"The MRD." Dr. Grey says.

"Why would Demon Guy work with them?" I blurt out.

"A few years ago, Azazel had a run-in with some mutants he wasn't quite fond of, it sort of ruined his respect for the rest of us." Ms. Monroe says, "That's why he's been capturing Mutants, it has nothing to do with money."

"I thought he was a demonic mutant thing, though."

"Yeah, a Demonic Humanoid Mutant, he doesn't like Human Mutants though." Dr. Grey says.

"And that's what we are?"

"Yeah."

"Great. "

Again, no one talks for awhile. The awkwardness that lingers throughout the plan is almost unbearable. Mr. Summers and Ms. Monroe quietly pilot the plane, occasionally switching something or changing the gears. Dr. McCoy sits completely still, the only thing that moves is his eyelids as he blinks. Dr. Grey is staring out the window, while Nathaniel and Rachel are playing games on their phones.

"Landing in five minutes." Mr. Summer says after what seems like an eternity it was probably just an hour though.

I look out the front window, I can see nothing but clouds, but according to the GPS, we are above Hull, England. Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to go to England, but not in this way.

"I wonder if we'll see the Doctor," Rachel says.

"Oh, yeah, we're going to the afterlife and your thinking about Matt Smith," Nathaniel says, "That's my sister for you."

"Okay, get ready, we're going down." Mr. Summers switches something and the lighting in the plane goes red. "Storm?" He turns to Ms. Monroe, in the reflection of the window I watch her eyes cloud over white. It is too similar to Azazel's eyes and I look away almost immediately.

Clouds form around us and thunder shakes the plane. Now, like I said, I have never flown before, but I don't think a lightning storm is a safe flying condition.

I look up to the front and watch the altitude dial, we go down, 25,000 feet, 15,000 feet, 10,000 feet, 5,000 feet; still, the cumulonimbus clouds surround us.

I squeeze my seat belt tighter. I look around expecting everyone else to be panicked too, but everyone is calm. Rach continues to be absorbed in her phone, but Nataniel looks over at me and mouths, _Are you okay?_

 _Yeah, I just don't like flying_. I say. I didn't lie, just bent the truth a little. I don't like flying, but in all honesty, I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.

The plane lands and I am thankful to be back on the ground. I now understand in movies why sailors will kiss the ground when they get back from a long journey. the land is awesome.

"Kurt should be somewhere here." Mr. Summers says. "Nathaniel and Laikyn, you can go out and wait for him."

My hands shake as I unbuckle and follow Nathaniel down the ramp and into a winter- wonderland. We are next to a lake. It's really beautiful, with snow-covered trees and hills and buildings in the distance.

"I think this is Pickering Park," Nathaniel says.

"You've been here before?" I ask.

"Yeah, we came to visit Kurt once when I was little, he took me and Rachel here for ice cream here."

"It's pretty," I say.

"You should see it in the spring. That's when the animals come back. You'd love it!"

"Yeah." I look around, they're are some animal prints in the snow, like deer and birds, but in December I wouldn't expect to see many creatures.

"If we survive this, I'll bring you here then," he decides, "I can pilot the Blackbird and I'm sure going on a date to England is an important reason to take it."

"Wait, you can fly that thing?" I ask, nodding towards the plane.

"Yeah, I can also drive stick, but I'm not allowed since I'm not old enough to get a license. Okay, I'mnot old enough to have a Pilot license yet either but you don't get pulled over if your underage flying."

"I can't even ride a bike," I say.

"How can't you- oh wait he's here, Hiya Kurt!" I turn around not know what to expect to see. Someone in a high-collared trench coat and a fedora comes over.

" _Hallo, Mein Freund_ ," The cloaked figure says in a thick, German accent, "you've gotten so big."

"Haha, yeah I had a growth spurt, this is laikyn," Nathaniel introduces me, "Laikyn, this is Kurt."

"Hi," I say, trying to be as normal as I could possibly be with some guy who doesn't have a face yet.

The rest of the group comes down the ramp, after a round of hugs Mr. Summers begins to tell Kurt about the mission.

"And now Xavier's missing." Mr. Summers ends.

" _Wunderbar_." Kurt says.

"Wow, I've never heard him be sarcastic before," Rachel says. "Things must be really bad."

"Ororo will go first." Mr. Summers nod and Ororo steps forward. Kurt hugs her and then, _POOF_ in a puff of smoke, they vanish.

"Teleportation," Nathaniel explains.

 _Yay_ , just what I want to do, spend what I feel like is eternity with empty balloons for lungs.

Another Bamf and puff of smoke and Kurt return, but he isn't in a trench coat anymore, he's in an X-Men uniform with red trim, but that's the most normal thing about him. He's completely blue _(Why is everyone blue?_ ), with pointed ears, fangs, tail with pointed-end and pupilless eyes. For an exception of his blue skin, he looks exactly like Azazel, which makes me slightly nervous.

"Laikyn, you ready?" Mr. Summers asks.

"Uh, I guess," I say.

"Don't worry, _Mein Freund,_ I don't bite," Kurt says with a smile.

I go towards him and he grabs me around the torso. I close my eyes and we teleport. The smell of sulfur is so strong it chokes me, not that I could breathe anyway. My knees buckle when we land and I go down.

"Sorry, Sometimes I forget to be gentle on the landing," Kurt says as he helps me to my feet.

"Yes," Ms. Monroe says from behind me with distaste, "You need to work on that."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like teleportation very much. I'm now making a list of travel ways I hate, both teleportation and air travel make the top two.

Kurt leaves us again, and fear bubbles inside me again as I look around. We're in the corridor outside Purgatory again, in between Azazel's lair and the golden walls, floors, and ceiling.

"Are you okay, Dear?" Ms. Monroe asks.

"Yeah." I say, "I've just had a lot of dreams about this place since I got back."

"You've been through a great ordeal, that's very understandable. I'm sure you can talk to Professor Xavier about them when we all get back."

"Yeah, Maybe," I say.

Another puff of smoke brings Nathaniel, who totally kills the landing too. He falls flat on his face. When he stands up his cheeks are bright red. "Are you okay?" I ask after he stood up and Kurt leave again.

''Sure." he says, "The only thing hurt is my self-esteem."

"You'll survive," I say.

"Who's surviving?" Rachel asks as she lets go of Kurt and brushed her uniform off like she was the one who fell.

"Your brother." Ms. Monroe answers.

"Aww, did he embarrassed himself in front of hi girlfriend?"

"Rachel," Nathaniel moans.

Kurt teleports out again, and seconds later another puff of appears. As the smoke clears out, there is one humanoid figure;

It's not Kurt.

 **Author's notes: And we're back in the afterlife. hope all of you are doing well :) see you thursday for another chapter. Critism and such are still always welcome. Cheers!**


	14. Chapter 14

Azazel's cruel laugh echoed from the stone walls, making it ten times stands with his hands behind his back and his eyes darting from Nathaniel, to Ms. Monroe, to Rachel, and finally me. My heart beats in my throat and I clench my hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

"I see I finally lured you pathetic X-Men here. Excellent, I do enjoy being amused," he says.

Ms. Monroe steps up in between us and him, "What do you want?"

"You have probably heard about the cure." He removes his hands from around his back and revealed a small gun and vial of the clear liquid that we've been trying to find an antidote for. "Well, After my little run-in with the Brotherhood I've been working to find a way to defeat the mutant population. So, imagine my excitement when those idiots who run the Mutant Registration Department uncovered a solution to stop mutations."

"If you destroy all the mutants, then you won't be able to get back to earth." Ms. Monroe muses, "Then where will you be?"

"I can _make_ more children," He places the vial in the gun, "Now, who wants to be my first test subject?"

I feel Nathaniel interlace his fingers with mine, but my mind is too numb to respond. I just stare at the glass vial, hoping that somehow it will break.

 _Nathaniel, can you break the vial with telepathy?_

 _Try telekinesis, and yes, I'd love too._

The vial cracks, causing the liquid to trickle out onto the floor, then _Crack_. Glass flies everywhere and the cure spills over Azazel's hand and onto the floor.

He curses at us, then drops the gun into the puddle of cure, "Which one of you mind-benders think yourselves brilliant?" He spits.

I squeeze Nathaniel's hand as if to tell him not to speak, not that he would, but it feels like an extra precaution.

"Your cleverness did not stop anything, it simply delayed it. Just know, X-Men, that I have forces way above you, even above Xavier." Azazel snaps his clawed fingers and four smaller puffs of smoke fill the corridor.

"What the-" Nathaniel steps back a few feet as Bamfs surround Azazel like bodyguards. In the very front is Loukas, wearing a full set of lava-red body armor.

The Bamf to the left of Azazel hands him another vial. He accepts it and places it in the gun. Then all hell cuts loose.

Bamfs begin teleporting a dozen at a time until there is an entire army of them and four of us. They charge and we get bombarded by a bunch of two-foot demons.

Lighting fills the corridor, frying bamfs to crisps. Rachel and Nathaniel send them sailing backward or into walls with telekinesis, while I stand there, useless, and try not to feel like Mufasa in the wildebeest stampede.

A lot of things go through my mind in the flood of Bamfs, most of the thoughts are how useless I am, but others pop up as well, like; _will I ever see Luke again?_ I would even be happy to see Lilly if I got out alive. _What's going to happen to my dad? Does he know where mom is? Will anyone from school call him if we don't make it out, or will he just spend the rest of his life wondering where his family went?_

I get tackled down and the first thing I think is, _This is the end_. But then something happens inside me, Maybe it's just adrenaline, but as the Bamf's claws dig into my arm, I act. I flip over, causing the Bamf to go under me. With one arm hold him down by the thin shoulder and one arm overtop his throat, "No." he gasps. I push him down into the ground until he stops squirming. "me was just trying to help y-" I look up at the Bamf's face and I instantly feel sick to my stomach, His wide eyes fog over and his mouth hangs open slightly, but there's no doubt in my mind, it's Varidi; the Bamf who helped me escape the first time.

"Varidi?" I whisper as I gently tap his furry face. _How did you end up back here?_ He's supposed to be in his own dimension and I just killed him. Tears welled up in my eyes as a feel the Bamfs pushing against me like the wave of guilt. I had never killed anything other than a bug before, I guess that's what fear does, makes you act like the villain that's inside us all.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring at Varidi while the Bamfs bumped into me, but I lose all my senses until my eyes are open, but I can't see anything. My breathing is rapid and shallow and I feel like I'm drowning in my own remorse.

Then just everything stops. "Laikyn. Laikyn are you okay?" I realize it wasn't The Bamfs bumping into me but Nathaniel shaking me slightly. I take a rattled breath and nod.I couldn't get my mouth to form any words.

"Whisperer, are you alright?" I hear Ekon too.

I look down at Varidi again. I knew I couldn't stay here forever, but I couldn't just leave him either.

"I killed him," I say, my voice is hardly audible but Nathaniel must have understood, "That's good, isn't it?"

"No!" I sob, "he helped me escape the first time, he pushed me out of the-" I look down, a small dart is stuck in the ground, "- the way of this," I pick up the dart with my fingertips.

"The cure," Nathaniel says, "some of them had guns with this stuff in it, No one got shot though."

"I would've been if he hadn't-" I fall into Nathaniel's shoulder and he holds me against him, "Let's go get your mom and the Professor now."

"I can't just leave him," I say, pulling away from Nathaniel's embrace. "Ekon, what will happen to him?"

"Nature."

"Can't we do something?"

"I am sorry, Whisperer, you must let happen what must," Ekon says.

"But why was he even here? I thought you brought him to his dimension."

Ekon shakes his shaggy head, "He refused to go back, he knew you would be back and would need a friend. So he came back with us and lived with the Hellhounds."

Tears stream down my face like a waterfall, "Why would you let him do that?!"

"Because, it's was his life, Whisperer, he choose his fate, now you must choose yours."

"I don't want any of this!" I scream, "I didn't want anyone to die for me." I wipe tears off my face more violently than what was necessary. "None of this should have happened!"

"You can't stop deaths, Laikyn," Nathaniel says, "Trust me, I know." He looks down at his feet for a minute, "come on, we need to get moving, Ororo and Rachel are already tracking down The Professor and your mom."

I look down at Varidi. I knew he was already gone and wouldn't know any different, but out of respect, I lean down and gently close his eyelids. Then I stand up and take a deep breath, "I guess I'm ready."

I glance around the corridor to see at least a dozen dead Bamfs sprawled out in different positions. I knew they were on the opposing side, but I still feel guilty.

We follow Ekon down the corridor and into the round room with the jail cells. Now all the cells are full, with everyone in all different stages of malnutrition and misery.

I spot Rachel and Ms. Monroe, Rachel seems to be getting pounced by a hellhound and Ms. Monroe is trying her best to get it off.

"Can't she just electrocute it or something?" Nathaniel asks.

"She cannot because there is no weather in the afterlife," Ekon says.

"What now?" Nathaniel looks at me puzzled, I had forgotten he didn't understand Ekon.

"There's no weather in the afterlife," I repeat what Ekon said.

"Good to know. That must be why it's so hot down here." He says as he rolls up his sleeves.

Ekon howls and the other hellhound jumps off Rachel and comes bounding towards us. "Hello, Master," He bows.

"What was that about, Barin?" Ekon asks.

"Master, There were intruders, I did only what you said to do," Barin stands up, he's shorter than Ekon by quite a lot, probably four feet.

"These intruders you speak of are not intruders, they are part of the Whisperer's team."

"What's going on?" Nathaniel asks.

"Ekon is telling Barin off for pouncing you sister," I say.

Barin slowly trots back over towards Rachel, who's just getting back to her feet, and licks her with his massive tongue.

"Whisperer, please tell her I apologize for attacking her."

"Ahh, Barin says he's sorry for attacking you," I say.

Rachel squeezes drool from her hair, "This is too weird."

Nathaniel comes over and hugs my shoulders.

"Nathaniel!" Ms. Monroe snaps, "Roll down your sleeves. Your uniform is to protect you."

"Well it's not protecting me from heat stroke, and that's what I'm getting in this dump," He reluctantly rolls down his sleeves.

"Ororo?" a weak voice speaks from a few cells down.

"Professor?" Ms. Monroe runs to the cell, "Rachel I need your help."

Nathaniel grabs my hand, "Let's go find your mom."

We look in every cell, and the very last one, I see her in the corner. Her hair is grayer than it was before, and her face is pasty. She looks up at us with empty eyes. "Mom?" I ask. She tries to nod, but her head falls back into the wall.

"We got to get her out." I say, "Can you use-"

Before I finish my sentence, Nathaniel is removing the door with telekinesis. I go in and kneel next to her frail, shaking body.

"Mom, we're here to rescue you," I say gently.

"Azazel," She gasps.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Starr, He hightailed out of here." Nathaniel follows me in.

"No, Azazel." She says.

She starts to scare me, She's always been the brave on of the family, now she looks like the slightest movement will break her.

"Can you stand?" I ask.

"Laikyn?" She asks.

I push sweat-drenched hair from out of her face, "It's me, You're going to be okay, I promise."

I grab her under the arms and pull her up. It takes a bit of muscle, but finally, I get her to her feet and with her arm around me, I support her as I half-drag, half-carry her from the cell.

"Need help?" Nathaniel asks.

"I'm fine right now." My mom's weight is making me a bit uneven, and a few times I stumble backward but I gain my balance and we make it across the room.

Ekon bows down so I can put her on his back. Professor Xavier is already there."

"Your dog friend is awesome," Rachel says.

"Yeah."

Ekon allows Rachel on his back as well, but Nathaniel, Ms. Monroe, and I have to get on Barin, which I don't mind.

Nathaniel is behind me, on Barin's back, and he puts his arms around my waist. I lay my head back on his shoulder, and we teleport out.

 **Author's notes: Hello all! hope you all have a great weekend. comments and critism is welcome!**


	15. Chapter 15

Large, fluffy flakes of snow drift down from the gray clouds as I climb off Barin's back and onto the frozen ground.I'm not surprised to see Bamfs laying in the snow.

Kurt hurries over, "Sorry, Mein Freunde. Azazel Sent an army."

"It's fine, Kurt, we only had a few casualties," Ms. Monroe wipes snow from her uniform.

"Casualties, who knew. Here I am, thinking I was just a murderer. But no, it was just a Casualty that Varidi died at my hand when he was just trying to protect me. HaHa, who knew." I say. My entire body feels numb and shake from adrenaline.

"Ah, Laikyn?" Nathaniel grabs my hand, "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be? An entire group of living creatures died today because they were loyal to someone because they didn't know any better. Nathaniel, I thought it was almost genocide but turns out it was just a casualty."

"Calm down, Lai, you're starting to scare me," He grabs my forearm so I'm facing him, "maybe we should get on the plane."

"No, Nathaniel, I'm fine," I pull out of his grasp towards Ekon, who Mr. Summers and Dr. McCoy are helping to get Professor Xavier and my mom down.

"ah, Whisperer, are you doing well?" Ekon asks.

"What is going on?" I ask, "Why is Azazel kidnapping all these mutants?"

Ekon hesitates while he kicks at a wad of snow, then he says, "Azazel has grown impatient with the human race, especially Homo Superiors. So much so, that he would rather destroy them all and start fresh with spawn of his own."

"Let me get this straight, he wants to destroy all the humans and mutants, then breed his own race of earth inhabitants?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Then why is Azazel working with the MRD?" I ask.

"Because getting rid of the mutants would make it easier for him to destroy the humans. After mutants lose their powers, they are easy to get rid of, and since at the moment the MRD and Azazel are working for the same goal, the two have allied together for the time being."

"Until he stabs them in the back and gets rid of humans too," I say.

"Yes, but not all will be destroyed. He does need some woman to produce his children, so he'll keep some alive."

I sigh. "I'd rather die before doing anything like that with Azazel."

"Chances are you will be very old or already dead by the time he figures a way to end all existence."

"Great," I say.

"Now, you must go, Whisperer, live your life and do not concern yourself with Azazel. He has been delayed greatly by your attack." and with that, Ekon and Barin teleport out.

"What was that about?" Nathaniel asks.

"Nothing," I say, "Let's go back to the school."

 **Later that day**

By the time I got onto the plane, my mom was already unconscious. Professor Xavier explained that he wiped her memory of Azazel and refilled it with a false memory that she was in a car wreck was in a coma for two weeks. If she remembers anything, it'll just seem like a dream.

When we got back to school, I instantly go to my bedroom. I slip (or more clumsily trip) out of my Uniform and toss it aside. The hot water streams onto my sore muscles and I slick my wet hair back.

I stand under the shower for a while, trying to wash away everything that happened today. It wasn't until I heard a knock on the bathroom door that I even considered getting out.

"Yes?" I call.

Illyanna answers, "the Proff sent me, Your mom's awake."

I turn off the faucet and wrap the towel around my damp body. "Coming" I reply.

I change into my green, ombre sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants. Then I open the door. Illyanna stands there with her high ponytail and Christmas sweater. "Heylo," she says, "How are you doing?"

I shrug, "Honestly, I don't know."

"Nathaniel told me what happened, sorry your friend died," she smiles grimly and hugs my shoulders, "But at least your mom's okay."

"You didn't see her," I shudder as I think of her weak body in the corner of the cell. Her hollow eyes, the pasty skin that covered her face. The way her once strong voice shook and cracked when I told her everything was going to be okay. '"She was terrified."

"Of course she was, Lai, but she's better now. The Proff wiped her memories," She puts a hand on my shoulder.

"She might not remember it, but I do."

"Hey, I understand, it's like when you clear the search history on Google, The computer may not have proof that you cheated, but you still remember," Illyanna hugs me again and I go down to the infirmary.

Professor Xavier stops me, "I'm assuming you know not to tell her anything of what actually happened?" He asks.

"Yes."

"All she knows is she was in a car crash on her way to pick you up for Christmas break and has been in a coma for two weeks. Your Father has been notified and I going to come to pick you both up this afternoon."

"Thanks, Professor," I put in my code and the doors of the infirmary slid open. My mom is sitting in a hospital bed, a tray of mac and cheese and a turkey sandwich is on her lap, but she's no eating. Her face is still pale, but she looks ten times better.

"Hey, Mom," I say, sitting in the chair beside her bed, "How do you feel?"

"I guess okay, dear," She looks down at her lap, "I guess you know now," She says.

I look at her, puzzled, "know what?" I ask.

"That I'm a mutant."

"Oh yeah," With everything we've been through, the fact that she has powers totally slipped my mind.

"Oh, Laikyn, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you! Your father and I swore not to tell you, to keep you safe. The Mutant Registration Department was really enforcing early registration of children of mutant parents. but by the time you got your powers, it felt like it was too late to tell you. I dreaded the day you found out. Oh, I am so sorry," by the end she has tears in her eyes.

"Mom, Mom it's okay. Really, it is," I grab her hand and squeeze it, "I turned out fine, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. Dr. Grey told me how you're helping her in the labs, Oh I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks." That didn't even seem to matter anymore, but she doesn't know that. "Dad's coming today," I say.

"The Professor already told me, I'm sorry you had to wait to come home."

"Oh." I hadn't realized how hard it would be to keep the entire thing a secret, "right, um you actually came a week early, If you hadn't um, been in the wreck, you would have had to go home anyway," I lie.

"Oh. I'm sorry, apparently, I'm an idiot,"

"Hey don't say that you made a mistake, we all do that."

The infirmary door opens and Dr. McCoy comes in, "Hello, Sally," He says.

"Hello, Henry."

"How are you feeling, do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine,"

"Well then, your husband is here, Laikyn, I'd recommend you go pack."

"Yes, Dr. McCoy." I bend down to hug my mom then leave.

 **Home**

 **Albany, New York**

"Laikyn!" Luke runs over and jumps on me, "I'm so excited your home!"

I rub his head and swing my backpack off my shoulder. I unzip it and take out the biggest bone I could find at Walmart, as I promised.

"Oh Boy!" Luke almost knocks down the coat tree with his tail. "Yes, Yes, Yes"

My dad helps my mom to the couch, he kisses her on the forehead and then goes into the kitchen to make dinner, he hadn't quit smiling since he arrived at school.

It was December 22, three days until Christmas. The plastic, Christmas tree was up, but not decorated. My Mom's Christmas Village sat in a box by the steps along with the ornaments and garland. We have a lot to do.

Dinner is grilled cheese and tomato soup. Everyone sits around the table, Luke even gets my sandwich crust. Afterward, My dad and I (with my Mom's directions from the couch, of course) work on setting up her Christmas village. Then we decorate the tree, while carols play on Pandora.

It's a good night, my family is back together, and I don't even worry about Azazel. Even if he does show up, I know I can call Nathaniel and the X-Men will come, and even if he does take me back to the afterlife, it would be unfortunate, but I would have Ekon and his Hellhound followers. So I'm not worried, at least not right now.

To Be Continued.

 **Author's notes: One more chapter and the story is finished. Oh My Gosh I don't believe it. Thanks you all who has followed, favorite and commented on the story :) It's always appreciated. See you all Thursday for the last chapter.**


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 **Five Months Later.**

I sit at a base of a tree with The _Death Cure_ propped up on my knees. Students of all ages are outside enjoying the nice weather. With classes finished for the semester, everyone gets some time to relax.

Illyanna is sitting at the edge of the pool, watches some of the student's race she invited me, but I didn't want to go.

Nathaniel is in a heated competition of basketball with Tyrone, Tandy, and a few others. I was also invited, but I didn't want to do that either.

So here I am, sitting in the shade of this oak tree, crying over a character's death. Apparently, the name _Death Cure_ doesn't mean it stops the best characters from dying.

"Hello."

I look down and see a garden snake slithering past me.

"Oh, hi," I say.

The snake goes around me, "Have a nice day," He says.

"You too," I reply.

I hear snickering from behind me, "I didn't know you spoke parseltongue," Nathaniel says, plopping down behind me. His gray T-shirt is drenched in sweat, and his brown hair is greasy.

"Who won?" I ask as I put my book down.

"Tyrone's team."

"Sorry, you lost," I say with a grin.

"No problem, Hey, want to go on a date today, say around three?"

I look at my watch, 2:07. "Sure. where?"

"Remember what I promised you in December?"

"Uh..."

"Pickering Park is lovely this time of year," He says in a fake British accent.

"Wait, _really_?"

I rush over to Illyanna to tell her the situation. I've never been on a date before, and I don't have that much time.

"Any ideas what you're wearing?" She asks as we walk to the School.

"No idea."

"Talk about an awesome first date, _England_."

"I know."

"Gotta love a guy who can fly a plane."

"Yep."

We get to my bedroom and Illyanna starts scanning my closet, lately, she's been quite the fashionista.

"Go brush out your hair," she says without turning around.

"Wait, what?"

"I've seen the way you do your hair, and trust me, it'll be better if I do it."

"I'm only going with Nathaniel, not Prince Harry." I say as I put my book back onto my nightstand, "We've been dating for six months now, I don't need to look crazy attractive."

"You have been boyfriend/girlfriend for six months, but you haven't been dating since this is your first date."

"Uh.."

"Promise me you won't be that person who gets undressed on your first date," Illyanna says as she pulls out a floral skirt and a turquoise tank top.

"I'm only fifteen," I say.

"That won't stop most people. Oh, here we go," She takes a pair of black sandals that I haven't worn since my aunt's funeral and my leather jacket. "Try this on," She hands me the pile of clothes and pushes me into the bathroom.

I look in the full-length mirror at myself. The skirt felt too short, even though it hit me at the knee. But other than that I really liked the outfit.

I step out and illyanna claps, "Wonderful!" she says, then she starts yanking at my hair.

I was pleasantly surprised that she only did a high ponytail, it looked great. And soon I'm meeting Nathaniel in the hall.

 **In the Blackbird**

I hold onto the armrests tightly. I still hate flying.

"You'll get used to it after awhile," Nathaniel says as he urges the joysticks so that the plane is straight.

I watch him for awhile. He wears an ivory button-down shirt with a pair of jeans and a hunter green jacket. His lips curl in as he pilots the plane.

"Landing." He says finally.

We land in the park and Nathaniel turns on stealth mode.

"Are you ready?" he asks.

I'm more than ready.

We walk along the lake, hand in hand, dodging geese and ducks who all chatter away about global warming. Then we get ice cream (Chocolate peanut butter) and eat it at a picnic table by the playground. I look around, it really is beautiful. The sky is a light blue with big fluffy clouds over the crisp, green grass and perfectly manicured flowers.

"You look really nice," Nathaniel says.

"Oh, thanks." I say I was tempted to say something along the lines of, 'oh this old thing' but I don't, "Illyanna helped me pick it out."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

I laugh, which gains getting ice cream on my face.

"Let me get that," Nathaniel says, he kisses my cheek, then he moves to my lips.

"Hey, Laikyn!" I hear someone yell. I pull away from Nathaniel and I look around until I see a goose waddle towards up.

"Remember me?" The goose ask.

"Um…"

"Bartholomew! I sat on your bully's face, remember?" He shakes his feathers.

"Oh, yeah! What are you doing all the way here?" I ask.

"Oh, just came on a vacation with the Mrs. before our eggs hatch," with his wing, he points towards a small group of geese, one is guarding two eggs.

"Aww, Congratulations!"

"Thanks, anyway I should be getting back, you know how women get when they have to wait." He waddles off.

"Travel all the way to England and you still meet people you know." Nathaniel smiles.

I laugh and curl my feet behind me, laying my head on Nathaniel's shoulder.

"How do you know that goose anyways?" He asks, kissing me on the top of my head.

"Because, " I say, "I am the Whisperer."

The End

 **Author's notes: Man, 24,911 words and 102 pages on Google Docs later, I am finished. Thanks to everyone who has followed, and reviewed, and even just read my story, it is really appreciated :) I know the last chapter was sort of short, but most epilogues are. I just wanted something lighthearted and fun and this is what I produced.**

 **I am very inspired by Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson books. His style of writing is very fun and I tried to reproduce that for this story. That is why, up to like chapter (maybe ten) the story is all over the place, from birds sitting on the guys head to romance and science to talking hellhounds. I am proud of the way I wrote this, and I hope you all enjoyed it too :). I may write more with Laikyn someday, if you all want to see that, let me know and give me some ideas for stories. See you all later!**


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